Santa Fe Shooter: Breaking Multiple Laws In One Day

On May 18, 2018, a school shooting occurred at Santa Fe High School in Texas, United States, which resulted in the deaths of eight students and two teachers, and injuries to thirteen others. The shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault. In addition to the loss of life, the shooting also raised questions about gun laws and their enforcement, as well as the responsibility of parents in preventing minors' access to firearms.

The shooter's father could have been punished for his son's access to his guns

On May 18, 2018, a school shooting occurred at Santa Fe High School in Texas, United States. The shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, used a shotgun and a revolver to kill eight students and two teachers, and injure thirteen others. Pagourtzis was a student at the school and the firearms he used were legally owned by his father.

Under Texas law, firearms cannot be made accessible to minors outside of hunting purposes or without parental supervision. The penalty for violating this law can be up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if the weapon causes serious injury or death.

The parents of one victim, Chris Stone, filed a lawsuit against Pagourtzis's parents, claiming that his father did not properly secure his weapons and that they were negligent in entrusting their son with the firearms. The parents of a second victim, Aaron McLeod, joined the lawsuit with additional allegations. Both families also alleged that Pagourtzis's parents failed to obtain mental health counseling and support, and to warn the public of his "dangerous propensities".

The trial took place in July 2024, and while the civil jury found Pagourtzis's parents not liable for the deaths, they did find Pagourtzis and the company that sold him ammunition liable.

The accessibility of guns to minors is a serious issue, and it is important for gun owners to secure their firearms properly. In the case of the Santa Fe shooting, the shooter's father could have potentially faced legal consequences for his son's access to the guns. However, the jury found him not liable, and the focus of the punishment fell on the shooter himself and the company that sold him ammunition.

The shooter's father's guns were legally owned

On May 18, 2018, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis opened fire at Santa Fe High School in Texas, killing ten people and injuring thirteen others. Pagourtzis used a shotgun and a revolver that belonged to his father.

The shooter's father had legally owned the guns, but Texas law prohibits firearms from being made accessible to minors outside of hunting purposes or without parental supervision. The penalty for violating this law can be up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if the weapon causes serious injury or death.

The parents of two victims, Chris Stone and Aaron McLeod, filed a lawsuit against Pagourtzis's parents, claiming that the father did not properly secure his weapons and that they were negligent in entrusting their son with the firearms. The lawsuit also alleged that Pagourtzis's parents failed to obtain mental health counseling and support and to warn the public of his dangerous propensities.

While the shooter's father may have legally owned the guns, the question of whether he properly secured them and followed the relevant laws is a matter that was addressed in the lawsuit. The civil jury found Pagourtzis's parents not liable for the deaths.

The shooter's father is a native of northern Greece

The father of the Santa Fe High School shooter, Antonios Pagourtzis, is a native of Magoulista, a village in the northern Greek region of Karditsa. He moved to the United States in his mid-twenties and settled in the Santa Fe area, where he ran a business selling agricultural machinery. Antonios is a marine repair company owner and showed an affinity for Fox News and the NRA's spokeswoman, Dana Loesch, on Facebook. He liked pages for cities in Greece and shared photos of his family and Greek culture.

Antonios and his wife, Rose Maria Kosmetatos, were married in 2000, with a 15-year age gap between them. They have two children, Dimitrios and a daughter, and are involved in Greek dancing through their local Orthodox church. Antonios's Facebook page states that he is from Magoulista, Karditsa, Greece, and currently lives in Houston, Texas.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Antonios expressed his shock and claimed that his son's history of being bullied was the reason for the tragedy. He told police that he wished he could have stopped the killing and even requested they let him inside the school so his son could kill him instead. Antonios believes his son was under immense pressure and suspects that something must have happened recently to push him over the edge.

The guns used in the shooting were legally owned by Antonios, who said, "My son, to me, is not a criminal, he's a victim... He pulled the trigger, but he is not this person." He emphasized that his son did not own the guns and that there were no warning signs, stating, "It's not possible in one day for the child to have changed so much."

The shooter's father confirmed the guns used were his

On May 18, 2018, a school shooting occurred at Santa Fe High School in Texas, United States, where 10 people were killed and 13 were wounded. The shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was a student at the school and used a short-barreled 12-gauge Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun and a Rossi .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver. Both firearms were legally owned by his father. Pagourtzis had purchased ammunition for the guns online in March 2018, without being required to provide proof of age.

The shooter's father confirmed that the guns used in the attack belonged to him. This revelation sparked discussions about gun control and the responsibility of gun owners in securing their firearms. Texas Governor Greg Abbott suggested increasing the penalty for gun owners when minors access and use their firearms to harm or kill, and advocated for stricter gun storage laws. However, these proposals faced strong opposition from gun-rights advocates and did not gain traction.

The parents of two victims, Chris Stone and Aaron McLeod, filed a lawsuit against Pagourtzis's parents, arguing that his father did not properly secure his weapons and that they were negligent in entrusting their son with the firearms. Under Texas law, firearms cannot be made accessible to minors outside of hunting or parental supervision. If a weapon causes serious injury or death, the penalty can be up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. However, a civil jury found Pagourtzis's parents not liable for the deaths in August 2024.

The Santa Fe shooter's access to his father's unsecured guns highlighted a broader issue of gun owners' responsibility in preventing minors from accessing their firearms. This incident, along with other school shootings and accidental shootings by minors, sparked calls for stricter gun control measures and accountability for gun owners.

The shooter was 17, and so his father couldn't be penalised under Texas law

On May 18, 2018, a school shooting occurred at Santa Fe High School in Texas, United States. The gunman, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, killed ten people and injured thirteen others. Pagourtzis was a student at the school and used his father's shotgun and revolver to commit the shooting.

Under Texas law, parents can sometimes be held legally responsible for the actions of their minor children. Texas's parental responsibility statute makes parents financially liable for their children's behaviour in certain situations, but only in cases of property damage, not personal injury. In the case of the Santa Fe shooting, while Pagourtzis's father owned the firearms used in the shooting, Pagourtzis was 17, and so his father could not be penalised under Texas law.

Texas's parental responsibility statute covers property damage in two situations: when both a child and their parent were negligent, and when a child between the ages of 10 and 17 has acted "willfully and maliciously". In the latter case, Texas courts classify a child's behaviour as "willful and malicious" if the child intended to harm someone. This means that a child's negligent behaviour is not enough to trigger liability under the statute.

In addition to the parental responsibility statute, Texas's common law sometimes makes parents financially liable for their children's behaviour. Common law negligence rules allow a victim to recover damages for physical harm they have suffered. The ultimate legal question is whether harm caused by a child was the result of a parent's irresponsibility. Texas's rules for common law negligence are similar to those that apply under the parental responsibility statute. However, there are three key differences when a victim sues a parent for common law negligence:

• Compensation for physical injuries: Common law negligence rules allow a victim to recover damages for physical harm, whereas the parental responsibility statute only covers property damage.
• Focus on parental carelessness: Under the parental responsibility statute, a victim must prove that both the parent and the child were negligent. In a common law negligence case, the victim does not have to prove that the child was negligent.
• Age of the child: Texas courts do not expect children to behave as responsibly as the average adult. The state's supreme court has said that children under the age of five are incapable of negligence, and older children are judged by what would be considered reasonable for a child of that age.

In the case of the Santa Fe shooting, the parents of two victims filed a lawsuit against Pagourtzis's parents, claiming that his father did not properly secure his weapons and that the parents were negligent in entrusting their son with the firearms. However, a civil jury found Pagourtzis's parents not liable for the deaths. The verdict highlighted that Texas law does not automatically assume that parents share responsibility for their children's actions, even when those actions are heinous. Instead, parental liability for negligence hinges on what parents knew about their child's behaviour and intentions, and whether they acted reasonably based on that knowledge.

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