The Santa Fè Shooting

This was the second shooting in less than a year in Texas, and the 22nd this year. It left 10 people dead (two teachers and eight students), 13 wounded and a community once again swamped with loss. How did it play out? On May 18, 2018 an art class had barely begun, when 17-year-old supposed shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis, wearing a trench coat, walked into the classroom and opened fire at the students. The suspected shooter admitted to having allegedly “chosen” his victims, and made the decision to not shoot the people whom he liked. One such example of a victim that he chose to kill, was Shana Fisher, who had rejected him publicly after months of being the subject of aggressive advances [1].

Dimitrios planned to kill the students and then commit suicide, but at the last minute, he gave himself up, admitting that he did not have the courage to kill himself. Most surprising of all, Dimitrios showed no signs of being a possible serial killer, a few classmates mentioning that he was quiet, but tried his best in sports and definitely did not exhibit the kind of alarming behaviour the other shooters from other such events did in their youth. Despite some speculation that Shana Fisher’s rejection forced him to take such drastic measures, most believe that loose gun control regulations were the primary cause of the shooting, and how Dimitrios had managed to get a hold of the pistol and shotgun that he used to carry out the attack. After this incident, groups like Never Again MSD have expressed their condolences and vowed to do as much as they can to work on the matter, with an even more determined approach.

More information about the shooter can be found here.