Iowa school shooter posted on Discord he was ‘gearing up’ before gunfire: report

The Iowa school shooter who killed a sixth grader and wounded several others appeared to tell online friends in a messaging app he was “f—king nervous” and “gearing up” moments before gunfire erupted inside Perry High School last Thursday. Dylan Butler, 17, appeared to be active on the online chat platform Discord just minutes before Thursday’s attack, NBC reported.

The teen gunman is suspected of sending out a series of messages under the account name “took2much” which was also once reportedly part of a group chat dedicated to school shootings. Butler shot and killed sixth grader Ahmir Jolliff, and injured another four students and three staff members, Thursday at the Iowa high school before he fatally shot himself, police said.

The gunman’s various social media accounts, including Discord, are now being reviewed by investigators, NBC News reported, citing a person close to the probe. Butler, in one of the messages believed to be from his account, told online friends he was at the school and ready “for what’s to come,” according to screenshots reviewed by NBC News.

Ten minutes after that message, he reportedly wrote “I’m f—cking nervous, I’m the bathroom gearing up.” Two minutes following that, he complained “There’s a n—– in the bathroom, I need him to leave so I can assemble my guns.” Butler also posted a TikTok video, under the screen name “tooktoomuch” where he posed in a school bathroom with a blue duffle bag at his feet along with the caption: “now we wait.” A Discord spokesperson told NBC News that the company believes the account name “took2much” belonged to Butler, but did not respond to questions about the disturbing messages.

“Our deepest sympathies are with the victims, their families, and the community in Perry, Iowa following yesterday’s horrific shooting,” a spokesperson reportedly said. “Discord has a zero tolerance policy against content that glorifies violence and violent extremism, which is reflected in our Community Guidelines.

“We took immediate action against the suspect and his content, and are currently cooperating with law enforcement to assist them in their continuing investigation.” The user “took2much” was also in a previous chatroom that discussed school shootings dubbed “School Massacres Discussion,” a Discord user that saw that screen name in the chat told NBC.

The Discord user, who was not identified, contacted the FBI over the chatroom in November and while an FBI agent replied seeking more information, the user never heard back after sending the agent screenshots of the chat, per NBC News. The user noted the info sent to the FBI did not bring up Butler’s suspected account and the chatroom was closed before the shooting.

The FBI declined to comment to NBC News. Butler was described as quiet, but someone who was bullied since he was in elementary school. After he shot himself, his body was found next to a not yet detonated makeshift explosive device. No clear motive has been established yet..