Eleven-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, a sixth-grade student at Perry Middle School known as Smiley for his cheerful personality, was shot three times during a school shooting on the morning of January 4, 2024. He had left for school a few minutes ahead of his mother and older sister and was in the Perry High School cafeteria when a 17-year-old student, Dylan Butler, opened fire in the area where students from different grades gathered for breakfast.

Police received the first reports at 7:37 a.m. and arrived within minutes to find students and staff sheltering in place or fleeing. Several students and staff, including the high school principal, were wounded. The shooter was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound; investigators recovered a shotgun, a handgun, and a rudimentary improvised explosive device. Ahmir’s death was ruled a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds. Motive remains under investigation, with some reports indicating the shooter had been the subject of bullying.

If anyone knew Ahmir, his routines that morning, or saw something relevant at the school on January 4, please share any information with investigators.