The two schools share a building and are connected by a hallway adjacent to the cafeteria, where the shooting occurred.

[8] The investigation's report—released October 17[9]—concluded that Butler acted alone without anyone knowingly providing support in "actions driven by a desire to commit suicide with the hostile intent of taking others with him".

[7][8] The post was accompanied by the KMFDM song "Stray Bullet", which had been used on the personal website of Eric Harris, one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.

He proceeded to move through the school, down hallways, into secured classrooms, and near an exit, where Marburger confronted him—allowing students to escape the area[12]—before Butler shot him again.

[9] At 7:35 am, Dallas County communications first received alerts from SEARS—a system for schools that allows users to contact emergency services with a button[13]—and a student's 911 call.

Several political figures, including Vivek Ramaswamy, who was holding a campaign event in Perry on the same day, Governor Kim Reynolds, Nikki Haley, Joni Ernst, Zach Nunn, Chuck Grassley, Rita Hart, and Brenna Bird released statements or social media posts offering condolences to the victims of the attack.

[22] According to NBC News, far-right figures such as Libs of TikTok, Donald Trump Jr., and Elon Musk "zeroed in" on LGBTQ symbols displayed by Butler's social media accounts to suggest that he was transgender.