Jan. 14 (UPI) — Principal Dan Marburger died early Sunday as the result of injuries he sustained in a school shooting at Perry High School January 4 in Perry, Iowa, his family said.
“At 8 a.m., Jan. (14), Dan lost his battle,” his wife Elizabeth wrote on a GoFundMe page for the family. “He fought hard and gave us 10 days that we’ll treasure forever.”
Marburger joins 11-year-old sixth grader Ahmir Jolliff who died last week when 17-year old Dylan Butler opened fire on students and staff in the cafeteria of Perry High School, in a rural part of Iowa about 40 miles northwest of the state capital of Des Moines.
After killing Jolliff and injuring several other students and staff, Butler died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Marburger worked in the Perry school district for nearly 30 years. “I always knew I’d be a teacher,” he told the Perry Chief when he started there in 1995.
Butler shot six other people on January 4 shortly after 7:35 a.m., before the official school day had started. It was the first day of classes following the winter break.
“I had great teachers I wanted to be like,” Marburger told the Perry Chief about why he got into education.
Early in his career, Marburger taught social studies for four years and then middle school computer skills for two years.
He also taught physical education and had been an athletic director and middle school administrator. Marburger said he especially enjoyed teaching history, as well as coaching.
Before assuming the head role, Marburger was an assistant principal at Perry who spent the majority of his time working with students on attendance and discipline issues. He enjoyed that aspect of the job. “In the hallways, at school activities. I like to know how things are going for them,” Marburger said.
As principals, “We are here to help all the students succeed as long as they want to succeed,” he said.
His personal message in his Perry school district biography is a quote attributed to Maya Angelou: “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
After making ominous social media posts from what was believed to be a high school bathroom, Butler opened fire in the cafeteria, a common area that connected the high school and middle schools.
He was found with a handgun and modified rifle near his body.
It is the latest in a long string of school shootings in the United States, which have become nearly commonplace.
