Santa Fe Shooting
May 21, 2018
Thirteen were injured and ten lost their lives at Santa Fe High School on Friday, May 18, in what is the ninth school shooting in the United States this year. The shooter, a junior at the school, is in custody. The community has begun mourning in the wake of the attack, with the first memorial services coming in the days following the attack.
On Friday morning, Dimitrios Pagourtzis entered the school and opened fire on students. In addition to firearms, improvised explosives were found at the scene. According to eyewitness accounts, the shooter initially targeted an art classroom, although investigators have yet to confirm this. Pagourtzis surrendered after confronted by law enforcement officers in the Houston suburb, and is currently being held while charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer.
Funerals and memorial services are being held in the city, with signs reading “Santa Fe Strong” appearing in public places. Pakistani exchange student Sabika Sheikh, a victim of the attack, was honored in a funeral at a local mosque, with over 3,000 members of the Texas Muslim community in attendance, according to the BBC. Texas Governor Greg Abbott attended a church service in the community on Sunday, and has spoken for expanded mental health screening in the state and elsewhere. Renewed calls for gun control reform have also emerged, echoing the nationwide reactions to the Parkland Florida shooting three months ago.
The police investigation is still open as authorities decipher the events in the school on Friday. As of this time, no information regarding motive or potential accomplices has been released.