Texas shooting: Suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis charged as 10 are killed and explosive devices found at high school - as it happened
Officials say the gunman used his father's firearms and later talked about wanting to save students he liked so they could 'tell his story'
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Your support makes all the difference.Ten people were killed after a gunman believed to be a student opened fire at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, in the latest spasm of gun violence in a country still shaken by the massacre at a Florida high school in February.
Authorities quickly named 17-year-old student Dimitrios Pagourtzis as their suspect. Later in the day he was charged with capital murder - for which he did not enter a plea - and was denied bond. He was being held in solitary confinement.
Scenes of grief and horror streamed out of the small community less than an hour's drive from Houston. Stunned and weeping teenagers tried to piece together the mayhem they had experienced. Schools were set to be closed for the start of the following week, with the FBI saying Santa Fe High School and the surrounding area would remain a closed crime scene “for some time”.
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Authorities said the assailant appeared to have obtained his weapons - a shotgun and a revolver - from his father, who possessed them legally. Explosive devices were found both at the school and off campus, Mr Gonzalez said.
Court documents said the suspect admitted to authorities having carried out the shooting “with the intent of killing people” and said he spared the lives of students he liked so that “he could have his story told“.
Writings in the suspect's journals that indicated he wanted to take his own life, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said.
“We also know information already that the shooter has information contained in journals on his computer and his cell phone that he said that not only did he want to commit the shooting, but he wanted to commit suicide after the shooting,” he said.
“As you probably know, he gave himself up and admitted at the time he didn't have the courage to commit the suicide, that he wanted to take his own life earlier,” Abbott added.
Some fellow students described him as quiet. He also played on the school's American football team.
President Donald Trump called the shooting heartbreaking and said that federal and local authorities were coordinating in the wake of the gun attack.
“My administration is determined to do everything in our power to protect our students, secure our schools and to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves and to others,” Mr Trump said at the White House.
As the day unfolded, Democratic elected officials said the latest shooting again proved the need for tougher gun laws. They were joined by teenage survivors of the Florida shooting who have turned into vocal fun control advocates.
While Mr Abbott said he intended to convene a series of public meetings to find “solutions” that would prevent more shootings, he did not elaborate on details.
From the Associated Press:
A student inside the Houston-area high school where several people were fatally shot says he was near the art classroom where the shooting took place.
Eighteen-year-old Logan Roberds says he heard a fire alarm at Santa Fe High School and went outside. He says he then heard two loud bangs, which he didn't initially think were gunshots. He says he thought someone loudly hit a trash can.
But he later heard three loud bangs. He says, "that's when the teachers told us to run." He says he ran with other students to a nearby gas station. His mother says she quickly drove to meet her son.
The emergency room medical director at a Texas hospital says the facility has treated eight patients injured in a shooting at a Houston-area school.
Dr Safi Madain at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center says six of the eight patients have been treated and released. Dr Madain says one patient remains in critical condition and the other is in fair condition.
Dr Madain says all of the victims appeared to be high school students with gunshot wounds.
The suspect in the shooting has been named as Dimitrios Pagourtzis by a number of media outlets, citing sources. Police have not yet officially released an ID.
↵March for Our Lives, a massive demonstration for gun control created by the survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting in Florida have shared their support on Twitter for the victims of today's shooting at Santa Fe High School.
“Santa Fe, we are with you, and we will do whatever we can to support you as the days go on,” the group tweeted.
There has been quite a bit of reaction to the shooting in Washington. Many Democrats have called for more action on gun control from President Donald Trump and Congress.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott says that 10 people were killed in the shooting, with another 10 people injured.
"This will be a long and painful time for this parents," he says - with many of the victims believed to be students.
Mr Abbott says the police are searching the scene - and two residences.
"Various kinds of explosives" have been found at a residence and in a vehicle, so they are taking their time to search.
One was a carbon dioxide device, one Molotov cocktail.
Two weapons sued in the attack, one was a shotgun
Both of the weapons were legally owned by the the suspect's father. It is not known if the father knew the weapons were taken and used.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz says that Texas has "once again seen the face of evil" with the attack.
Mr Abbott called the shooting "one of the most heinous attacks that we've ever seen in the history of Texas schools."
He said explosive devices including a molotov cocktail that had been found in the suspected shooter's home and a vehicle as well as around the school and nearby.
The governor said the suspect said he originally intended to commit suicide but gave himself up and told authorities that he did not have the courage to take his own life.
Abbott said there are "one or two" other people of interest being interviewed about the shooting.
Authorities found writings in the Texas shooting suspect's journals that indicated he wanted to take his own life, Mr Abbott said.
"We also know information already that the shooter has information contained in journals on his computer and his cell phone that he said that not only did he want to commit the shooting, but he wanted to commit suicide after the shooting," he said.
"As you probably know, he gave himself up and admitted at the time he didn't have the courage to commit the suicide, that he wanted to take his own life earlier," Mr Abbott added.
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