Dan Marburger, the head of Perry high school distracted the gunman before being shot, according to his daughter. Image: REUTERS
Iowa principal died.
A principal who was shot at his Iowa school while defending his students from a gunman has passed away from his wounds.
At Perry High School, which is close to Des Moines, Dan Marburger “acted selflessly and placed himself in harm’s way” when a student opened fire, according to officials.
His daughter claims that before he was shot, he attempted to divert the gunman’s attention so that the students might escape.
On Sunday, his family made the statement, “After 10 days, he lost his battle and this tragedy took his life”.
The attack on January 4th claimed the life of 11-year-old Ahmir Joliff and injured six others. According to the officials, the sixth-grader was shot three times.
Mr. Marburger, who had been the principal of Perry High School since 1995, passed away on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. local time, according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family by his wife Elizabeth.
“Although Dan is no longer fighting with us here, his family will continue to deal with the unfathomable for many days, weeks, and years to come.”
His “selfless and heroic actions” would “forever be remembered,” according to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
On the day of Mr. Marburger’s funeral, she issued an order for flags all around the state to fly at half mast until dusk.
The principal of the Iowa school attempted to ‘talk down’ the gunman.
According to officials, the shooting started on January 4 at around 7:30 (13:30 GMT) in the school cafeteria while students were eating breakfast.
That is where Mr Marburger intervened and tried to “talk down” the suspect, identified as Dylan Butler.
His daughter Clare posted on Facebook, saying, “It is absolutely zero surprise to hear he tried to approach and talk Dylan down and distract him long enough for some students to get out of the cafeteria.
“ “That’s just dad.” The 17-year-old student Butler was subsequently discovered dead at the scene from a gunshot wound that he had self-inflicted.
A representative for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation informed the AP news agency that among his possessions were a shotgun and a revolver in addition to a “pretty rudimentary” explosive device.
The event happened fewer than two weeks prior to Monday’s Iowa Republican presidential primary.
President Joe Biden was briefed shortly after the shooting, and the White House got in touch with the governor’s office in Iowa.