DES MOINES, Iowa — Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger has died from injuries he sustained during a mass shooting on his campus earlier this month.
Marburger was critically injured the morning of January 4 when a 17-year-old student opened fire at the school. He was shot multiple times as he tried to save students by talking to and distracting the shooter, reports CNN.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety said he “acted selflessly and placed himself in harm’s way in an apparent effort to protect his students.”
The family announced Marburger’s death on his GoFundMe page on Sunday, reports the Associated Press. All flags in Iowa were ordered to be lowered to half-staff.
Marburger is the second person to die from their injuries sustained during the Perry High School mass shooting. Ahmir Jolliff, 11, was also killed during the attack, and four other students and two other school staff members were also injured.
The campus where the shooting took place houses both a middle school and a high school. The gunman opened fire as students were eating their breakfast in the cafeteria.
The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Marburger’s death prompted a flood of supportive social media posts. Additionally, the $100,000 fundraiser for the principal’s family surpassed its goal, with over $190,000 being raised and a new goal of $250,000 being set, reports the Des Moines Register. The fund will be used for “the Marburger family as they process through and live out Dan’s legacy.”
In response to the shooting, several parents of students at Perry High School told school board officials on Monday that they want more preventive measures and transparency, reports WTOP. Some want metal detectors installed, while others want a single point of entry for the campus.
