Police confronted Texas gunman within 4 minutes

SANTA FE — In many ways, Santa Fe High School followed the playbook for how to confront a school shooting.

When gunfire erupted Friday morning, two police officers stationed at the school confronted the gunman within about four minutes, law enforcement officials reported on Monday, offering new details on how the police brought the shooting rampage to an end. Galveston County sheriff Henry Trochesset said the officers hemmed the gunman into one classroom and saved lives by drawing his attention and fire.

Even before then, the stu- dents and teachers at Santa Fe High had prepared for how to respond to a shooting: through regular active shooter drills, they knew how to barricade themselves in classrooms and flee the school grounds quickly and fluidly. Other police officers among the more than 200 who eventually responded had done “alert training” and kept their marksmanship honed.

All of this, and still 10 people were killed and 13 wounded.

That a 17-year-old armed with his father’s revolver and shotgun could exact such a toll despite what officials here have called a swift, aggressive response further underlined the limits of training, preparation and readiness.

“Luckily, the body count’s not higher,” Trochesset said at a news conference Monday.

The sheriff told reporters that the two officers — one of whom was critically wounded by the gunman — had kept the suspect, identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, “contained and engaged” as scores of officers from across the area rushed to the school to evacuate students and educators.

“It was contained in that one area, which saved so many lives,” he said. “And again, I’m going to take it personal: three doors down, my granddaughter was in that room. I think they’re heroes, everybody that was out there that stayed engaged with him.”

Trochesset said the gunman tried to shoot at the police, and officers fired “minimal” shots during a standoff before the suspect surrendered. Pagourtzis faces multiple murder charges and is being held in the county jail under suicide watch, the sheriff said.

The sheriff said he did not believe any of the 10 people who were killed were shot by law enforcement officers, but he said he could not definitively confirm that until after autopsies were performed. –