US: Iowa school shooting wounds multiple people, says sheriff

Several people were wounded on Thursday morning at an Iowa high school on the first day of classes after the holiday break, officials said, prompting Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to cancel a scheduled campaign event in the town.

The shooting at Perry High School took place just after 7:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) and resulted in “multiple victims,” Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said at a news briefing. The extent and exact number of injuries are still being determined, he said.

ABC News previously reported that at least one person was killed, citing unnamed law enforcement officials. Infante did not confirm or deny that report.

The sheriff said the shooter had been identified but would not say whether the suspect was in custody.

The shooting occurred on what was to be the first day of the spring semester, according to the school district’s calendar. Perry, a town of about 7,900, is about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Des Moines, the state’s capital city.

Few students and faculty were in the building at the time, since classes had not yet begun, Infante said, which may have curtailed the number of victims.

Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who founded a biotechnology company, had been scheduled to hold a rally in Perry but changed the event to an in-person prayer after reports of the shooting, a campaign spokesperson said.

Iowa will hold the first statewide contest for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in 11 days.

“Pray for the community in Perry, Iowa this morning.” Ramaswamy said on the X social media platform.

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