Santa Fe High School shooter reportedly killed girl because she turned down his advances
A mother has come forward and said that her daughter who was killed in the Texas school shooting had rejected and humiliated the shooter publicly.
Sadie Rodriguez, the mother of 16-year-old Shana Fisher, the girl who died mere days after she celebrated her 16th birthday, said on May 19 that her daughter had been avoiding advances that the shooter, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, had made to her for months.
She said in an interview with the Daily Mail that was done using Facebook: "He continued to get more aggressive. She finally stood up to him and embarrassed him."
Although a clear motive for the shooting at the school in Santa Fe on May 18, that took the lives of 10, has not been found, it is the first sign of one even though it hasn't been confirmed by either the prosecutors or the lawyers.
Pagortzis' family says that he is a "quiet" and "sweet" 17-year-old. Rodriguez said that the teen became more and more aggressive with her daughter until the girl finally couldn't take it any more and rejected him in class in front of everyone. This alleged incident happened one week before the shooting.
A lawyer for the Pagourtzis family, Nicholas Poehl, said that he did not get any information about any such rejection happening. He also told reporters that he had spent the entire day debunking any fake news about the shooter's personal life.
The charging documents stated that the teen confessed to the attack and even told investigators that he hadn't killed anyone that he liked and he did this so he could "have his story told". A police affidavit said that Pagourtzis, who is a junior at Santa Fe High, had hidden a shotgun and a handgun underneath his trenchcoat before he launched the attack on the first-period art class on May 18.
New witness accounts have claimed that the entire attack lasted for 30 minutes and took place in a series of interconnected classrooms.
According to the new reports, the shooting started with a blast from the shotgun through the classroom door. It shattered the glass pane and panicked students inside ran to the door to try and block Pagourtzis from getting inside.
The Pagourtzis family released a statement through Poehl and said that they did not see any warning signs that such a tragedy was going to occur and that they are cooperating with the police.
The family said: "We are as shocked and confused as anyone else by these events that occurred. We are gratified by the public comments made by other Santa Fe High School students that show Dimitri as we know him: a smart, quiet, sweet boy."
"While we remain mostly in the dark about the specifics of yesterday's tragedy, what we have learned from media reports seems incompatible with the boy we love."
The boy is currently being held without bond on the charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. He appeared in court for a brief moment on May 18 evening and did not say much except to ask for a court-appointed lawyer.