Police have a 17-year-old male student in custody who allegedly walked into Santa Fe High School with a shotgun and started shooting at his classmates, killing at least ten people and injuring ten others. Police said the student's name is Dimitrios Pagourtzis. He is being held in the Galveston County Jail on capital murder charges with no bond.
Authorities also have an 18-year-old in custody, who police say might be an accomplice of the shooter.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that Pagourtzis surrendered to authorities and told them he wanted to kill himself but lacked the courage to follow through with it. Abbott said that he used a shotgun and .38 revolver in the attack and that they were legally owned by his father.
A witness told KTRK that the student walked into an art class just before 8 am local time and started firing what appeared to be a shotgun. Students said that he was wearing a shirt that said "Born to Kill" and a trench coat, which he often wore to school.
One parent spoke with KTRH and said that his son was in the neighboring classroom when shots rang out. He told the news station that the shooter then walked into his son's classroom and shot out a window using a pump action shotgun. His son and four other students jumped out of the broken window and ran to his home, which is about a quarter mile from the school. He said they suffered minor injuries from jumping through the broken window.
Officials from the Santa Fe school district said that explosives were discovered at the school and at an off-campus location and that "law enforcement is in the process of rendering them safe." Police are reportedly searching a house about three miles from the school and local media reports the bomb squad is on site.
"There have been explosive devices found in the high school and surrounding areas adjacent to the high school. Because of the threat of explosive items, community members should be on the look-out for suspicious packages and anything that looks out of place."
Police said the explosive devices were pipe bombs and pressure cookers.
Students described Pagourtzis as "really quiet" and said he was "not one of those kids" that they expected would go on a violent rampage. Police are combing through his social media accounts looking for clues as to why he committed such a heinous act. His Facebook bio said he was planning to join the Marines next year and he shared a photo of the custom "Born to Kill" shirt he reportedly wore when he opened fire on his classmates. He also posted "several images of a black duster jacket with Nazi, communist, fascist and religious symbols."
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