Texas school shooting suspect planned to kill self after attack: Governor

The suspect of the new Texas school shooting in the US didn’t plan to stay alive by the end of his attack. Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, who is suspected of killing nine students and one teacher, as well as injuring 10 people, at a high school in Santa Fe, had allegedly planned to end his gruesome attack with a suicide.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the teen’s plan was to kill himself following his attack, but he instead surrendered to police. “He didn’t have the courage to commit suicide,” he said.

On Friday around 8 a.m. local time, Pagourtzis allegedly opened fire in an art class at the Santa Fe High School. Students and staff fled after seeing fellow students hurt. He apparently obtained the shotgun and revolver that he used from his father, who had legally acquired them.

He was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault on a public servant. He was not asked to enter a plea when he appeared via a video from the jail in a court house. He was denied bail.

Authorities later found explosive devices such as pipe bombs and pressure cookers in and near the school. A second person, who is believed to be a student at the high school, has been detained, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales. The second person is an 18-year-old male and is believed to be an accomplice and not a shooter.

According to the charging document for Pagourtzis (via Reuters), he picked his victims and chose not to shoot those he liked. This was apparently done so the surviving students could have his story told. Two police officers were among the injured. One of them was in critical condition.

Abbott said the investigators didn’t find any red flag warnings from the suspect. Pagourtzis apparently had no outward signs that he had been planning an attack. He had posted a photo of a shirt with “Born to Kill” text design on Facebook, but other than that, investigators haven’t found yet, if any, signs that he was about to kill people.

The school shooting the 22^nd school shooting since the beginning of the year and is the second mass shooting in the Texas state in less than a year. The first was in November when a man shot 26 people dead with an assault rifle.

US President Trump said the he was saddened and heartbroken over the deadly shooting. “This has been going on too long in our country. Too many years. Too many decades now,” he said.

Parkland shooting survivors, the students of the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida, also expressed their thoughts about the shooting. Emma Gonzales, one of the students-turned-activists who is a strong proponent of gun reform laws in the country, said the victims and survivors deserved more than “thoughts and prayers.”