10 die in Texas school shooting; explosives found on site, nearby
Student suspect used dad’s guns, officials say
SANTA FE, Texas — A teenager carried out a brazen assault on a southeast Texas high school Friday, killing 10 people and wounding 10 more, authorities said. Explosives were found in various locations, on and off campus.
The rampage, 35 miles from Houston, again set off what has become a national rite: paramedics and police officers arriving en masse at a campus while students and staff members fled in tears. But Friday’s attack also appeared remarkably far-reaching, extending beyond the high school and unnerving investigators who did not immediately find any missed warning signs.
The school district said the shooting began at Santa Fe High School about 7:45 a.m., just after the start of the school day. It was the deadliest attack on an American school campus since February, when 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
The Galveston County sheriff identified the suspect as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student at the school. During a brief court appearance Friday evening, a Texas judge refused bond for Mr. Pagourtzis, who has been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault against a public servant.
He appeared to have obtained a shotgun and a .38 revolver from his father, who legally owned them, authorities said. According to Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, the gunman yelled “Surprise!” before he started shooting,
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Mr. Pagourtzis had not come to the attention of authorities before and that the most menacing sign of trouble was perhaps a shirt, included on Mr. Pagourtzis’ Facebook page, that read “born to kill.” There were no indications he had a criminal record or any history with law enforcement.
“Unlike Parkland, unlike Sutherland Springs, there were not those types of warning signs,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to
attacks at Parkland in February and at a Texas church last November. “We have what are often categorized as red-flag warnings, and here, the red-flag warnings were either nonexistent or very imperceptible.”
Investigators offered no immediate motive for the shooting. The governor said the assailant intended to kill himself but gave up and told police that he did not have the courage to take his own life.
A woman who answered the phone at a number associated with the Pagourtzis family declined to speak with The Associated Press.
“Give us our time right now, thank you,” she said.
Mr. McCaul, a former federal prosecutor, said he expects the Justice Department to pursue additional charges, possibly involving weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Pagourtzis played on the junior varsity football team and was a member of a dance squad with a local Greek Orthodox church. Acquaintances described him as quiet and unassuming, an avid video game player who routinely wore a black trench coat and black boots to class.
The Santa Fe Independent School District said in an early afternoon tweet that “explosive devices” had been found both on the campus and in surrounding areas. Various types of explosive devices had been identified elsewhere as well, state officials said at a news conference.
Investigators were planning to question two other people: One was at the scene and had “suspicious reactions,” according to Mr. Abbott, and the second is someone who quickly drew the scrutiny of investigators.
Law enforcement officers had engaged with Mr. Pagourtzis, and one officer was in critical condition, said Col. Steven C. McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. At least three officers had confronted Mr. Pagourtzis, Col. McCraw said. He did not elaborate.
Authorities did not release the identities of any victims, though family members confirmed that substitute teacher Cynthia Tisdale was among those killed in the shooting.
One of the injured was John Barnes, an officer working for the Santa Fe school district as a school resource officer who was the first to engage Mr. Pagourtzis. A bullet damaged the bone and a major blood vessel around Officer Barnes’ elbow, which required surgery to repair, said David Marshall, chief nursing officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch. He said Officer Barnes was in stable condition.
Mr. Abbott called the shooting “one of the most heinous attacks that we’ve ever seen in the history of Texas schools. It’s impossible to describe the magnitude of the evil of someone who would attack innocent children in a school.”
Logan Roberts, an 18year-old senior, was in his first-period class when the fire bell went off. He walked outside with groups of other students, who gathered in a small field.
He said he heard two sounds — “like when you kick a trash can” — and then saw teachers running from the side of the building out of the corner of his eye. Other teachers started telling the students to get back. He heard three other sounds and someone told the students to run.
“We didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “It was terrifying. It was scary. I’m saying scary a lot, because it was.”
Mr. Roberts said that he knew the shooting suspect and that he was in two classes with him. “It’s very odd. I’ve talked to him. He’s a nice kid,” he said.
Located in rural Galveston County, Santa Fe High School serves 1,477 students and mixes vocational course offerings like livestock production and welding with the standard algebra, physics and history.
On Thursday night, the school’s graduating class of 2018 had its Sunset Dinner and Powder Puff Game, according to the school’s website, and its varsity baseball team played Kingwood Park in the first game of the regional quarterfinal playoffs.
Last weekend was prom, where a strict dress code was enforced, and in two weeks, May 31, the school year is scheduled to end with an early dismissal.
President Donald Trump said his administration would do “everything in our power” to keep guns away from those who should not have them.
“This has been going on for too long in our country — too many years, too many decades now,” Mr. Trump said in the East Room of the White House, where he was making remarks on prison reform.
“My administration is determined to do everything in our power to protect our students, secure our schools, and do everything we can to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves and to others,” he said.