Texan mourners turn to God, endure grief
SANTA FE (AFP)— Grief-stricken families in southwestern Texas gathered in churches throughout Santa Fe on Sunday seeking spiritual succor following a massacre at the town’s high school, the nation’s latest mass shooting.
As federal investigators search for a motive in the deadly attack, hundreds of people attended an emotional funeral service for a Pakistani exchange student, one of 10 people killed in Friday’s rampage. Many of the men wore traditional Muslim garb, kneeled and prayed.
The gunman has been identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student who is alleged to have used his father’s shotgun and revolver to kill fellow classmates and two teachers.
At Arcadia First Baptist Church, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hugged survivors of the shooting and their parents and urged them to stay strong.
“We’re here to support you,” Abbott said.
Some 500 congregants bowed their heads as pastor Jerald Watkins offered prayers.
“It’s time like this when all of us realize how fragile our lives really are,” he said.
Santa Fe 10th grader Joshua Stevens, 15, said he was glad to see the governor in attendance, adding, “It’s important that after a tragic event like this we just come together and worship.”
Abbott later went down the road to the school itself and placed a wreath on the front lawn. Students and residents also placed flowers, messages and stuffed animals in honor of those who died there.
“We come here today with hearts that are aching, knowing that there are parents today without children,” he said.
As southeast Texas grieved, the political talk shifted toward how to better protect citizens and facilities like schools in a country where guns have become an inextricable part of the fabric of American life.