Texas School Shooting: Family Of Accused Gunman 'Stunned'

SANTA FE, TX — Relatives of the alleged gunman in Friday's school massacre in Santa Fe say they are “as shocked and confused as anyone else." The family of 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis said in a statement to media outlets Saturday afternoon that they were saddened by the shooting at Sante Fe High School that left 10 people dead and more than a dozen others hurt.

Relatives say they were gratified by public comments about the alleged shooter from other students who knew him as they did: as a "smart, quiet, sweet boy."

"While we remain mostly in the dark about the specifics of yesterday's tragedy, what we have learned from media reports seems incompatible with the boy we love," the statement said.

Attorney Nicholas Poehl told the Houston Chronicle on Saturday that he visited Pagourtzis at the Galveston county jail, where the accused gunman remained jailed without bond on charges including capital murder.

Poehl told the newspaper this was obviously "a tough situation" and that his client was "behaving consistently with that.” It has also been hard for Pagourtzis' family, who were struggling to wrap their heads around what happened, he said.

“The family is stunned,” he told the Chronicle.

Pagourtzis walked into Santa Fe High School on Friday morning with a dark trench coat covering a shotgun and a .38 revolver, authorities said. Within minutes, he opened fire, killing eight students and two teachers, school officials said. The FBI said Saturday that 13 people were hurt in the attack, while local hospitals reported that they had treated 14 people for injuries.

Authorities say Santa Fe ISD Police Officer John Barnes and another officer ran into the school to confront the shooter. The gunman shot Barnes, 49, with a shotgun.

“He went to the fight. He was willing to give up his life to save as many children as possible,” said Houston Police Chaplain Monty Montgomery. “That’s a big difference than what we’ve seen some other times.”

Barnes was rushed to a hospital in critical condition and remains sedated as he recovers from a close-range gunshot wound to his arm. Bleeding reportedly caused his heart to stop beating twice.

The accused gunman did not enter a plea, but the teen told investigators that he "did not shoot students he did like so he could have his story told," according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court. Pagourtzis admitted to shooting people with the intent of killing them, according to multiple media reports. He was placed in solitary confinement.

The teen told authorities he acted alone, the county judge said.

The Red Cross has opened a family assistance center where students and their families can receive support. The facility, open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, is a place where people can have a secure and private way to receive vital services, officials said at a press conference Saturday.

Randy Weber, who represents the 14th congressional district in Congress, told reporters the community will emerge stronger.

"This is a tough time. We've got a hurting community. We've got people who've lost loved ones. Some of them students, some adults. We are going to pull through this. This is going to be a time for our community to heal.

Weber said this is the second time in eight months that the community has gone through tragedy. He says they pulled through after Hurricane Harvey and will do so again.

"We will pull together. We will grieve together," said Weber. "We will love one another. We will work together. We did it after Harvey, still doing it after Harvey. And we'll do it after this. I told people back after the hurricane, Harvey may have brought the downpour, but our Texans and our friends and our neighbors are bringing the outpour."

Jack Roady, the Galveston County district attorney, in a statement identified the 10 slain victims as eight students and two teachers.

The teachers killed were Glenda Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale. The slain students were identified as Kimberly Vaughan, Shana Fisher, Angelique Ramirez, Christian Riley Garcia, Jared Black, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Jake Stone and Aaron Kyle McLeod.

You can donate to the victims' families here.

Since the April 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, there have been 14 school shootings in Texas, including Friday's rampage. There have been 220 school shootings in the U.S. since the Columbine attack, according to statistics compiled by the Washington Post.

The latest school attack comes just three months after the deadly Valentine’s Day attack in Parkland, Florida, when a student armed with a semi-automatic rifle killed 14 students and three staff members.

• Texas Gun Control Group: ‘Saddened And Outraged’
• J.J. Watt Offers To Pay Funeral Expenses
• Santa Fe Community Unites Amid Tragedy
• After Shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott Calls For Action
• Dimitrios Pagourtzis: 5 Things About Accused School Shooter
• 2 Shot, 1 Killed In Georgia Shooting Near High School: Reports

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Pagourtzis gave himself up to police, but had originally planned to kill himself, Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday.

There also were "one or two other people of interest," who were being questioned by police, he said.

The guns used were legally owned by Pagourtzis' father. It was not known if the father knew his guns were taken.

Abbott said that there were no warning signs of the attack from Pagourtzis. A "red-flag warning was non-existent or very imperceptible," he said.

The teen had no criminal history known to authorities. The only signs an attack was imminent was a photo on Pagourtzis' Facebook page of a T-shirt with the phrase "Born To Kill."

Dan Patrick, the lieutenant governor, said if the school had more resource officers, someone would have found it weird to be wearing a trench coat in 90-degree weather.

Authorities asked that students, teachers and anyone else who might have seen the attack and recorded it notify police. Searches of school grounds and the accused gunman's home and car revealed explosive devices, including a CO2 device and molotov cocktail.

Barnes, the police officer, has been the only injured person who has been named.

"We grieve for the victims who lost their lives at Santa Fe High School and we pray for the families who are suffering and will continue to suffer in the days to come," Abbott said during the press conference outside the school building. "Nothing can prepare a parent for the loss of a child ... I ask every parent out there, wherever you may be to hold your children close tonight and let them know how much you love them.

Eight of the injured were taken to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center and six have now been released, Dr. Safi Madain said. All of the injured taken to Clear Lake Regional were students. One of the students was in critical condition and the other student is in fair condition.

Earlier Friday, doctors at the University of Texas Medical Branch reported that three people, including Officer Barnes, were taken there. The doctors said that among those being treated were two adults, a man and woman.

The woman had been shot in the leg, and the third patient, apparently a student, were in fair condition.

As authorities and parents grappled with what unfolded Friday morning, Abbott, Cruz and other government leaders turned the conversation to preventing another violent attack at a school.

"We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families," Abbott said. "It's time in Texas that we take action."

A series of discussions will take place beginning next week with state lawmakers, educators, students and parents to address what can be done to make schools safer, the governor said. "We want to hear from everyone that has an interest," Abbott said.

Abbott mentioned a threat assessment program at the Lubbock school district as a possible solution, calling it "very successful." But Nancy Sharp, executive director of communications and community relations at Lubbock ISD, said the district is no longer part of the program, according to lubbockonline.com. The district participated in a research pilot project from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

The district is considering several threat assessment programs in the future, including the Texas Tech program, Sharp said. The screening program evaluates students who are judged to be “imminently dangerous to themselves or others.”

Patrick said schools need to adopt new safety measures. He suggested staggering start times for schools, and limiting the number of entrances that students use.

"We need to harden our schools and make them safer," Patrick said.

The incident began to unfold about 7:45 a.m. local time when police were called to the campus for a report of shots fired inside the school. Nickie Galindo, a student at Santa Fe High School, said she was in art class when a man came into the school with a shotgun and began firing, and wounded a student and a police officer.

"It happened so fast," she said. "A gunman walked into the room and started shooting. It was like a shotgun. Everyone was screaming. I just ran."

Students and adults could be heard weeping as she shared her account of the story.

Paige Curry, a student inside the school and down the hall from the art room, heard gunshots and hid inside the school's theater room until they were told to leave.

"I was going to run out, but they made me stay," she said.

Leila Butler, a sophomore at the school, said she thought it was a fire alarm.

"It's really scary," said Butler. "We thought this was a fire drill, because the fire alarm went off, but we didn't know what was happening."

Other students at the rear of the school heard gunshots and panicked, running from the rear of the campus.

Other students said they heard explosions inside the school. Tactical police units were sweeping the campus looking for explosive devices.

The shooting is the latest in a long series of violent incidents that have occurred in American schools over the past couple of decades. Among the people weighing in on social media was President Trump.

In a statement, the president said that White House staff members were monitoring the situation.

"This has been going on too long in our country. Too many years, too many decades now, we grieve for the terrible loss of life and send our support and love to everyone affected by this absolutely horrific attack to the students, families, teachers and personnel at Santa Fe high," Trump said. "We're with you in this tragic hour and we will be with you forever."

Santa Fe ISD Superintendent Leigh Wall wrote a letter Friday afternoon to parents and the community saying he, like others, have many questions about "this horrific event." The district will be closed Monday and Tuesday.

"We have received an outpouring of offers of support from our neighbors locally, statewide and nationally. I want you to know that we will gladly accept every resource that will help our students on what promises to be a long road to recovery. Your children's needs -- emotionally, spiritually and physically -- will be met by those who are best equipped to do so," Wall said.

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Photos: Photo 1 and Photo 2 by Getty Images; Photo 3 via Harris County Sheriff's Office

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