Shooting at Santa Fe
Last Friday morning, a shooter opened fire at Santa Fe high school in Texas, killing at least ten people and seriously injuring thirteen more. This was the most deadly school shooting since 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14.
What Do We Know So Far?
Santa Fe is a public high school about thirty miles southeast of Houston. The shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, entered his first-period art class at around 7:30 am and began firing his weapon. One of the students ran out and pulled the fire alarm, alerting other students to exit the building. After a 25-minute shootout with deputies and the school’s armed officers, Pagourtzis was taken into custody alive. He has been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer. Pagourtzis admitted to the shooting and said that he spared people he liked. At this point, his motive is still unknown.
Pagourtzis carried a shotgun and a revolver, both of which he had taken from his father, who owned them legally. Several explosive devices were found at the school and in the surrounding area. Two other people are also being questioned by police. One was present at the scene of the crime, and another is someone who police think might have additional information about the case.
Who Were the Victims?
Eight students and two teachers were killed in the attack. The students are Jared Black, Shana Fisher, Christian Riley Garcia, Aaron Kyle McLeod, Angelique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Jake Stone, and Kimberly Vaughan. The teachers were Glenda Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale.
One of the women killed had been rejecting Pagourtzis’s romantic advances for months. At this point, the other victims’ relationships to the shooter are still unknown.
Parkland High School Responds
Survivors of the fatal shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, spoke out about the massacre. They criticized lawmakers for their inaction and said that violence like this will continue to occur until real change is made in the form of gun reform laws.
The shooting at Santa Fe High School is significant not just for the tragic loss of life, but for its statistical importance. As of last Friday–the 22nd school shooting this year–school shootings are now the third-leading cause of death for American children under the age of 18. It has also become statistically safer in 2018 to go to war than to go to school.
The day after the shooting, students in the Washington D.C. area entered the U.S. Capitol building to demand that House Speaker Paul Ryan pass gun reform legislation. Several of the students were arrested. Texas Governor Greg Abbott–who up until now has advertised a giveaway for a $250 shotgun voucher on his re-election Web site–has stated that he agrees that thoughts and prayers are no longer enough and that real action needs to be taken to prevent this kind of gun violence from ever happening again. He has promised to sit down with legislators in a roundtable conversation about common sense gun reform as early as next week.