Texas School Shooting: Santa Fe Community Unites Amid Tragedy

SANTA FE, TX — It’s a bit surreal in the coastal community of Santa Fe.

Things look normal in some parts of the tiny community, but it's hardly normal at all.

The sun is bright, but there is a deep level of sadness that hangs in the air in the aftermath of yet another school shooting in America.

On the day after a 17-year-old student allegedly walked into Santa Fe High School and did the unthinkable, taking the lives of 10 innocent people and injuring 13 others, the community mourns and looks for answers.

Santa Fe ISD officials held a press conference on Saturday announcing that campuses would be closed through Tuesday, May 22.

Students who drove to the campus on Friday were allowed to come to the campus to get their vehicles.

“We are...allowing students and staff members limited access, one-on-one with an officer, to go in and collect their valuables, car keys and vehicles,” said Santa Fe ISD Police Chief Walter Braun.

Students and staff will be brought on campus in groups of 10, logged in and individually escorted by an officer to a room to gather their valuables and get their vehicles.

“Only part of the building is available, so it’s on a very limited basis,” Braun said.

The officers mourn with the community, and Braun added what has happened has not really sunk in with many of the officers.

“Our officers are very prepared,” he said.

Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, who was face-to-face with the accused shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis on Friday evening when he read the charges against him, said there was nothing new on the investigation.

“This is a tough time,” said U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, a Republican representing the 14th District. “We’ve got a hurting community and people have lost loved ones. We are gonna pull through this.”

Weber said the community banded together during the onslaught of Hurricane Harvey eight months ago to help their neighbors, and they would do so again.

“We will pull together, we will grieve together, and we will love one another...,” he said. “We are still doing it after Harvey, and we’ll do it after this. We will get through this.”

Henry Van de Putte, regional chief executive officer for the American Red Cross, said they were coordinating with FBI and Texas DPS victims assistance to open up a family assistance center to provide support.

The family assistance center is located at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church at 13217 FM 1764 in Santa Fe, and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Image: SANTA FE, TX - : Crime Scene surrounds Santa Fe High School on May 19, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. Yesterday morning students fled the school as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis opened fire with a shotgun and a pistol inside of the building, killing at least 10 people. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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