Texas town mourns after mass shooting
Texas teen says he targeted students he didn’t like
SANTA FE, Texas – Residents of this farmlined quiet city awoke Saturday with the realization that they now belong to the cadre of mass shootings sites.
Some students were still healing from bullet wounds and facing surgery.
Others were getting ready to attend funeral services for slain classmates a day after police say a 17-year-old student opened fire in the halls of Santa Fe High School, killing 10 people and wounding 13 others.
It was the worst mass school shooting since the rampage at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in February left 17 dead, and the worst in Texas since a sniper killed 16 people and wounded 31 from atopthe clock tower at the University of Texas at Austin in 1966.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, was taken into custody after the attack on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a peace officer. Authorities say they do not have a motive, but Pagourtzis confessed, admitting to officers he targeted students he didn’t like, court records show.
The investigation is likely to center on the electronic trail the teen left on his computer and cellphone and what he tells investigators. It’s unclear whether he continued to cooperate with authorities after the incident.
Authorities spent much of Friday checking for explosive devices that they say Pagourtzis left at the school and around the area.
But Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said Saturday that authorities found a group of carbon dioxide canisters taped together, and a pressure cooker with an alarm clock and nails inside. But he said the canisters had no detonation device and the pressure cooker had no explosive material.
A coldblooded killer described as yelling “surprise!” before opening fire differed from the portrait painted by fellow students who knew the suspect.
Pagourtzis was described as quiet and an athlete, but few thought the student was capable of such violence.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said investigators have yet to identify any red flags that could have signaled what Pagourtzis had planned.
The only obvious clues were left on his social media pages, where he posted a photo of a firearm and a T-shirt that read “born to kill.”
In total, nine students were killed along with a teacher.
While authorities have not publicly identified any of the victims in the shooting, family and friends have started to post their condolences and name the fallen.
The shooting is likely to reignite a debate on gun regulations, coming just three months after the Parkland shooting, which sparked national rallies and protests.
Organizers with March for our Lives, the student-led movement spawned from the Parkland shooting, announced members would be traveling to Santa Fe this weekend to meet with survivors and offer support.
At a Friday night vigil for the victims, several hundred people showed up to light candles, hug and support one another. Erin Werner, 17, there with her mother, Marisa Werner, said it was important to attend.
“You don’t hide away when stuff like this happens,” she said. “The intent was to strike fear into people, but you don’t let that stop you.”