Texas shooting: Suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis charged as 10 are killed and explosive devices found at high school - as it happened

(CNN) The teenager who allegedly used a shotgun and a revolver to kill 10 people and wound 10 others at a Texas high school Friday admitted he didn't shoot people he liked and meant to kill the ones he did target, a probable cause affidavit says.

Suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis , 17, has cooperated with police, said Galveston County Magistrate Mark Henry said. Henry denied bail for the student, who is accused of capital murder of multiple people and aggravated assault on a public servant.

Students at Santa Fe High School, not far from Houston in southeastern Texas, scrambled for safety after they heard shots just after class began Friday morning. Nine students and one teacher were killed, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Pagourtzis said little during a video court appearance, answering "Yes, sir" when asked whether he wanted a court-appointed attorney. He was not asked to enter a plea.

The probable cause affidavit says he told an investigator he spared people he liked because he wanted his story told.

The alleged shooter used a shotgun and a .38 revolver that were legally owned by his father, Gov. Greg Abbott told reporters. Two school resource officers were on the campus and confronted the shooter "early on in the process," Abbott said.

Latest developments

• A student who survived being shot in the head tweeted: "I'm so greatful and blessed that god spared me today." Rome Shubert showed CNN affiliate KTRK where a bullet went in the back of his head and came out near his left ear.

• A Pakistani exchange student, Sabika Sheikh, was killed, the county's embassy in Washington said.

• Substitute teacher Cynthia Tisdale was also killed, her family said.

• One classmate told CNN the alleged shooter was "really quiet and he wore like a trench coat almost every day."

• Abbott said investigators have found journals on a computer and cell phone owned by the suspect.

• The governor offered his sympathies to the victims then called for lawmakers and others to come together to prevent more tragedies. "We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families. It's time in Texas that we take action to step up and make sure this tragedy is never repeated ever again."

• Henry, the Galveston County magistrate, said the suspect told investigators he acted alone.

• Retired Houston Police officer John Barnes was one of the people shot at Santa Fe High School, a hospital official said. Houston's police chief tweeted that he visited the hospital where Barnes was being treated and that Barnes was "hanging in there." The officer was working as a Santa Fe officer, a police union official tweeted.

Early morning attack

Gunfire erupted at the school, about 20 miles outside Galveston, not long after classes began around 7:30 a.m. CT, officials said. Authorities later found explosive devices -- including pipe bombs and pressure cookers -- in and near the school, the law enforcement official said.

A second person -- also believed to be a student -- has been detained as well, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said earlier.

This is the 22nd US school shooting since the beginning of the year, and the third instance in eight days in which a gunman was on a school campus.

Witnesses described students running from the school as they heard gunshots; they also described hearing an alarm at the school, though the sequence of events wasn't immediately clear.

Authorities found explosive devices in the high school and in adjacent areas, said Walter Braun, Santa Fe Independent School District police chief. It wasn't immediately clear if any had exploded.

Santa Fe High School junior Guadalupe Sanchez, 16, cries in the arms of her mother, Elida Sanchez, after reuniting with her at a meeting point at a nearby fitness center after Friday's shooting.

Because the devices were found, Braun urged people in the city of about 13,000 people to "not touch any items that look out of place, and call 911" if they see something suspicious.

Investigators Friday afternoon were searching a trailer where they believe the devices were assembled, a law enforcement source said.

Witness: Shooter fired gun in an art class

Daymon Rabon was in class when he heard a loud bang next door.

"We thought maybe someone was banging on the shop door or maybe something fell," the senior said. Rabon said he followed his teacher, who went to investigate.

They heard three more bangs and saw the shooter come out off of an art room.

"At this point we knew this was ... really happening to us," Rabon said.

They went back into their classroom and told others to help barricade the door.

Rabon said he heard more than a dozen shots.

"You could hear him getting closer," he said. "Everyone was crying, in complete tears, just in utter disbelief."

Rabon said he heard someone shooting back and they gave them some hope, but the shooting seemed right outside their door.

Victims were being treated at three hospitals, authorities said. Eight people went to Clear Lake Regional Medical in Webster, Texas; two patients were treated at Mainland Medical Center in Texas City; and four patients went to John Sealy University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. It is unclear whether they were all wounded or some were treated for other injuries.

Six of the eight patients at Clear Lake Regional were discharged by Friday afternoon.

Witnesses describe hearing an alarm as well as gunfire

"We were all standing (outside), but not even five minutes later, we started hearing gunshots," she said. "And then everybody starts running, but, like, the teachers are telling us to stay put, but we're all just running away."

"I didn't see anybody shooting, but like (the gunshots) were kind of spaced," Angelica said, adding she heard about four shots.

A witness who spoke to KTRK also said she heard an alarm. She didn't specify if that was before or after the gunfire she described in the art class.

She said she couldn't describe the shooter.

"I didn't look. I just ran," she said.

Police officers work a checkpoint in front of Santa Fe High School in response to the shooting.

Another student, Dakota Shrader, told CNN affiliate KPRC that she heard gunshots only after hearing an alarm in the school.

"I was in the history hallway, and as soon as we heard the alarms, everybody just started leaving following the same procedure as ... (a) practice fire drill," Shrader said, breaking into tears. "And next thing you know, we just hear ... three gunshots, loud explosions, and all the teachers are telling us to run."

Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson after Friday's shooting.

The high school has about 1,400 students, according to GreatSchools.org.

Trump: Mass shootings have been 'going on too long in our country'

Trump addressed the school shooting, saying that mass shootings have been "going on too long."

"Unfortunately, I have to begin by expressing our sadness and heartbreak over the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas," Trump said from the East Room of the White House. "This has been going on too long in our country. Too many years. Too many decades now."

Trump said federal authorities are coordinating with local officials.

"We grieve for the terrible loss of life and send our support to everyone affected by this absolutely horrific attack," Trump said.

Trump has ordered US flags at federal facilities be flown at half-staff.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis was seen entering the low-slung building at Santa Fe High School on Friday morning, armed and wearing a trench coat.

Like others who’ve terrorized American students, the 17-year-old planned to kill his peers and then himself, the authorities said.

He opened fire, and the school erupted in chaos. An alarm clanged, and in the art room, bloodied students cried for help.

But once the bullets pierced his classmates’ bodies, the suspect surrendered, said Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, and admitted “that he didn’t have the courage to commit the suicide.”

On Friday, as a small Texas town grappled with the deaths of 10 of their own, a sketchy profile of another violent young man came to the fore, the disturbing details of his life blurring with those of the school gunmen of the past.

“Born to Kill” appeared on a T-shirt he posted on his Facebook page, along with images of the trench coat and an explanation of its decorations.

“Hammer and Sickle=Rebellion,” he wrote. “Rising Sun=Kamikaze Tactics. Iron Cross=Bravery. Baphomet=Evil.”

Above all this, Mr. Pagourtzis posted artwork seemingly inspired by the electronic musician James Kent, professionally known as Perturbator. Mr. Kent’s music — largely instrumental — has been adopted by affiliates of neo-Nazi groups and the alt-right.

Mr. Abbott said that the gunman had used a shotgun and .38 revolver, both of which appeared to be obtained from the suspect’s father, who legally owned them. The suspect also kept a journal, which detailed his plans for the attack and his suicide.

Dr. Chuck Burnell, the chief medical officer for Acadian Ambulance Service, said it appeared that the gunman had loaded the shotgun with buckshot and that “the high degree of lethality was because of close-range buckshot.”

By Friday afternoon, the suspect was in custody at the Galveston County jail. Federal authorities are seeking search warrants to find explosive devices at two residences.

Police said the gunman brought several of these devices into the school. It was unclear whether any went off.

During a court appearance that lasted about two minutes on Friday evening, a Texas judge denied bond for Mr. Pagourtzis, who has been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault against a public servant. Mr. Pagourtzis, who was dressed in a jail jumpsuit and said little as he stood before a judge, requested a court-appointed lawyer. He was not asked to enter a plea.

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.

Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school

15 show all Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school

1/15 Santa Fe High School staff react as they gather in the parking lot of a gas station The Galveston County Daily News via AP

2/15 An active shooter incident was reported at Santa Fe High School in Texas KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP

3/15 People embrace outside the Alamo Gym where students and parents wait to reunite following a shooting at Santa Fe High School Houston Chronicle via AP

4/15 Law enforcement officers responding at Santa Fe High School HCSO via Reuters

5/15 Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson following a shooting at the school Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP

6/15 School staff members sit in a school bus to be transported to another school The Galveston County Daily News via AP

7/15 A Santa Fe Police officer consoles others after the shooting The Galveston County Daily News via AP

8/15 Emergency personnel and law enforcement officers respond to claims that an active shooter was reported on campus KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP

9/15 Police officers work a check point in front of Santa Fe High School The Galveston County Daily News via AP

10/15 A woman prays in the grass outside the Alamo Gym where parents wait to reunite with their kids following a shooting at Santa Fe High School Houston Chronicle via AP

11/15 Santa Fe High School freshman Caitlyn Girouard, center, hugs her friend outside the Alamo Gym Houston Chronicle via AP

12/15 A Pearland Police armored vehicle stands in front of Santa Fe High School The Galveston County Daily News via AP

13/15 Emergency responders from multiple agencies work at the scene The Galveston County Daily News via AP

14/15 KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP

15/15 KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP

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.

Donald Trump issues statement after Santa Fe High School shooting

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.

America is once again grappling with the the plague of school gun violence, after 10 people were shot dead and at least 10 others injured when a gunman entered his Texas school and opened fire.

Shots rang out at Santa Fe High School on Friday morning, in what would become the 22nd school shooting in the US this year. Students recalled hearing a fire alarm and thinking it was a drill, until they heard the sound of gunshots.

Police suspect that 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who witnesses said was wearing a trench coat in a manner that immediately called to mind the 1999 school shooting in Columbine, Colorado, entered an art class and opened fire with with what officials believe was his father’s shotgun and .38 revolver.

The teenager is currently being held by police on capital murder charges – namely charges that carry the death penalty. Texas governor Greg Abbott said two other people were being questioned as “persons of interest”.

Follow latest updates after shooting attack at Santa Fe high school

“It is with great sadness that I stand here to share with you that we experienced an unthinkable tragedy at our high school this morning,” Santa Fe Independent School District superintendent Leigh Wal said in a statement.

She added: “We are grieving the loss of members of our SFISD family.”

The suspected shooter was said to have been a former American football player and danced in a religious group at the school, located 40 miles from Houston.

The school district said possible explosive devices had been located at the school and off the campus. Law enforcement officials were attempting to make them safe.

At least 10 people – including one police officer – were taken to hospital in the wake of the shooting. The police officer was injured attempting to engage the shooter, according to Harris County sheriff Ed Gonzalez. The extent of his injuries was unknown.