Suspect had detailed plans, posted image of coat with Nazi insignia

SANTA FE, Texas – The 17-year-old suspect in Friday’s Texas high school mass shooting wore a long coat to get his firearms into the school without anyone noticing and sketched out plans for the grisly attack ahead of time, authorities said.

Law enforcement officials took Dimitrios Pagourtzis into custody soon after he carried out the attack and say he is the sole gunman responsible for the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School that left at least

10 dead and 13 more wounded, according to police and prose- cutors. He was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a peace officer.

It’s not USA TODAY’s policy to identify minors charged with crimes, but because of the magnitude of the event and the fact the suspect has been charged as an adult, USA TODAY has decided to identify the suspect.

Gov. Greg Abbott said the shooter told investigators he wanted to commit suicide after carrying out the shooting and had detailed his planning for the attack on his computer and in journals.

He said the gunman used two weapons in the attack, a shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver. Both were legally owned by Pagourtzis’ father.

“He gave himself up and admitted that he didn’t have the courage to commit the suicide,” Abbott said.

The incident came two weeks before the school was set to hold graduation and as students prepared for final exams.

Police said suspected explosive devices were also found on and off campus in the aftermath of the shooting.

Abbott described some of the explosive devices found as a CO2 device and a Molotov cocktail. The governor said it appeared the devices were assembled by the shooter, and investigators had not uncovered any information that would suggest the suspect received help building the explosives.

Abbott said authorities were speaking to two additional people of interest about the incident.

“One is a person who was at the scene,” Abbott said. “We cannot definitively say whether or not that this is a person that may have had some level of involvement in the crime. There was just some suspicious reactions from this particular person, and we want to make sure this person is adequately investigated. Separate from that, there is another person where we have certain information, (and) we want to make sure that this other person is going to be fully interviewed to see if there is information to be gleaned.”

Pagourtzis played defensive tackle on the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team and was a member of a dance squad with a local Greek Orthodox church.

Social media accounts that law enforcement officials confirmed belonged to Pagourtzis but were taken down in the aftermath of the incident featured photos of firearms, a knife and a custom-made T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Born to Kill.”

He also posted a photo of a coat that included Nazi insignia.

Abbott said law enforcement officials have obtained warrants to search two residents associated with the suspect as well as a vehicle.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the incident suggests it might be time for schools to limit the entrances and exits student and staff can use and stagger start times to make it easier for school resources officers to secure a school.

“There aren’t enough people to put a guard at every entrance and exit,” Patrick said.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis