Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Santa Fe High School shooting suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis‘ wanted to take his own life after the shooting.
During a press conference, Abbott said investigators found the 17-year-old suspect’s journals and a cell phone, reports CNN.
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“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,” Abbott told reporters.
The governor continued, “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 also told reporters Pagourtzis obtained his weapons from his father, who legally owned the weapons, reports Fox News. The weapons were a shotgun and a .38 revolver.
There were also reports of explosives found in the vicinity of the school.
“There have been confirmed reports of explosives found on the campus and off the campus,” Santa Fe Police Chief Jeff Powell said, reports KHOU. “That’s our main concern is to keep our community safe.”
Pagourtzis is being held at the Galveston County Jail on capital murder charges without bail.
Ten people were killed in the early morning shooting, including nine students. According to NewsChannel8, another 10 people were wounded.
Damon Rabon, a student, told CBS News he heard a “loud banging, kind of a ringing noise” when the shooting began.
“It was just so scary, you could hear him walking, you’d hear him walking right past our classroom,” Rabon said. “You could hear the shots, ‘boom, boom, boom.’ Thank God he didn’t come into our classroom.”
“As soon as we heard the alarms, everybody just started leaving following the same procedure as [a] practice fire drill,” another student, Dakota Shrader, told CBS News. “And next thing you know, we just hear three gunshots, loud explosions, and all the teachers are telling us to run. You could just hear ‘boom, boom, boom’ so I just ran as fast as I could to the nearest forest to hide and call my mom.”
Witnesses also reported seeing Pagourtzis wearing a T-shirt reading “Born to Kill” and army boots. Others described him as a quiet student who kept to himself, and others said he was bullied in the past, reports CW39.
President Donald Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the shooting, adding, “Our Nation grieves with those affected by the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas. May God heal the injured and may God comfort the wounded, and may God be with the victims and with the victims’ families.”
