Ten people were killed and 10 wounded in a shooting Friday morning at a high school south of Houston, authorities said. The shooting at Santa Fe High School was the nation’s deadliest such attack since the massacre in Florida that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control.
At least one teacher and several students were killed in the Friday’s shooting, law enforcement sources told CBS News. Another 10 people were wounded, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at an afternoon news conference.
Officials began identifying those killed in the attack Friday afternoon, including Ann Perkins, a substitute teacher at the school, and Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Sabika’s family and friends,” said Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US.
The suspect in custody was identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said in a statement. He was being held without bond on a charge of capital murder. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the suspect was believed to be a student at the school.
Investigators said Pagourtzis admitted to authorities that he went on a shooting rampage at a Southeast Texas high school that left 10 dead, most of them students.
According to a probable cause affidavit, however, Dimitrios Pagourtzis told investigators that when he opened fire at Santa Fe High School on Friday morning, “he did not shoot students he did like so he could have his story told.”
Authorities said they discovered homemade explosive devices in the school and nearby, including pipe bombs, at least one Molotov cocktail and pressure-cooker bombs similar to those used in the Boston Marathon attack.
Heinous Attack
Abbott called the shooting “one of the most heinous attacks that we’ve ever seen in the history of Texas schools.”
Houston police chief Art Acevedo said school resource officer John Barnes is “hanging in there” after being shot in the arm. Barnes was the first person to engage with the suspect, officials said.
Two people of interest were being interviewed by authorities, Abbott said. He didn’t identify them.
Pagourtzis’ social media pages showed multiple images of guns. He recently posted a photo wearing a T-shirt reading “Born to Kill” and there were also photos of a long dark jacket with Nazi symbols.
Abbott said the suspect had said that he wanted to commit suicide after the shooting. “He gave himself up and admitted at the time that he didn’t have the courage to commit the suicide,” he said.
The suspect had a shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver, Abbott said. The suspect’s father owned the weapons legally, Abbott said, adding that he did not know whether the father was aware his son had obtained the weapons.
