Santa Fe High School shooter played football and was also part of a church dance squad
The shooting at the Santa Fe High School in the southeastern Texas city of Santa Fe led to the deaths of 10 people and the injury of 10 others. Gunfire erupted at the school at 7:30 am, with authorities reporting that explosive devices — including pipe bombs and pressure cookers — were also found in or near the school.
Law enforcement announced that two suspects were detained in connection to the shooting, with one of them identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis. Pagourtzis is the one who supposedly fired the shots, with the other detainee, an 18-year-old, suspected of being his accomplice.
USA Today has reported that Pagourtzis played defensive tackle at the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team and that the 17-year-old was also a member of a dance squad with a local Greek Orthodox church. He was supposedly an accomplished player as well and was among the players lauded for playing a critical role in stopping the Ball High School's JV running game in a 14-0 victory.
Buzzfeed also posted numerous pictures from his now-deleted social media accounts. His Facebook page was taken down for breaking the social network's 'policy against mass murderers' and had an upload of a military jacket with Nazi-related insignia and 'Kamikaze tactics.' Another shows him donning what appeared to be a bisexual pride pin on his hat.
His Instagram account carried much more inflammatory content. One post included a photo of a gun and knife and was accompanied by the caption, 'Hi f******.' Another had him pointing what appears to be a sniper rifle at the screen, with one comment even reading: "Why you shooting up schools." Buzzfeed stated that the account followed US President Donald Trump, his family, as well as several noteworthy gun-enthusiast pages.
Comments from his peers paint the picture of a teenager who was quiet and socially awkward. Payton Bailey, a 16-year-old sophomore at the high school, told Buzzfeed news that Pagourtizis often kept to himself, adding that he often wore a trench coat and that someone once told her that he 'believed in evil.'
Another sophomore, Avery Garza, told the website that Pagourtzis had not been in attendance for several days prior to the shooting. He said in disbelief: "We would have never thought it was him. I’ve never talked to him. He never talked to anyone."
Talking to ABC13, a student identified as Dustin said that he used to talk to the 17-year-old and that it did not seem like he could carry out such a thing. He also said that Pagourtzis was often bullied by coaches and that he did not have many friends, speculating that one of the victims from the shooting was one of the bullies.
The tragic incident comes at a time when the school was preparing to hold graduation and the final exams for the year. CNN reports that the shooting marks the 22nd since the beginning of the year, and the third instance in eight days in which a gunman has waltzed into a school campus unimpeded.