1 Year Ago: A Look Back at the Santa Fe High School Shooting That Killed 10 and Wounded 13
KC Baker
At 7:32 a.m., police responded to 911 calls about an active shooter at Santa Fe High School in Sante Fe, Texas, a town of about 12,000 in the eastern part of the state. Armed with a shotgun and a .38 revolver, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, walked into a first-period art class and opened fire. Moving between classrooms, he looked for people to shoot, yelling, “Surprise!” as he flung open the door of a supply closet where eight students were hiding and killing two students inside. School Police Officer John Barnes rushed toward the gunshots in hopes of stopping the shooter. Instead, he found the gunman lying in wait for him, shooting Barnes in the upper arm, nearly killing him.
As students in other parts of the school heard the shots and ran to hide, an army of police officers and SWAT team members descended on the campus. After exchanging gunfire with police for more than 15 minutes, the suspect surrendered at 8:02 a.m. After securing the area and confiscating the suspect’s guns – which his father had legally obtained – SWAT officers located and released terrified students and teachers who had barricaded themselves in classrooms and closets.
Kevin M. Cox /The Galveston County Daily News/AP
Terrified, emotional students reunited with parents and friends as they awaited word about those who had been harmed in the rampage. About an hour after the shooting ended, authorities found possible explosive devices — including pipe bombs — on the grounds of the school and surrounding areas. Bomb squads examined them and determined that they were harmless.
Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle/AP
Ten people were stolen from their families forever that morning: Students Jared Black, Shana Fisher, Christian Garcia, Aaron Kyle McLeod, Angelique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Chris Stone and Kimberly Vaughan and teachers Ann Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale.
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The community and country came together to grieve the lives lost in the senseless rampage.
The suspect was initially charged with capital murder in state court, which would make him eligible for parole after 40 years, if convicted. Victims and their families then appealed to the Department of Justice and Congress, demanding he also be charged federally, which would require him to serve consecutive sentences for each victim upon conviction. In April, their advocacy paid off when the suspect was taken into federal custody. He now faces 11 counts. "I want him charged federally simply because I want to make sure he stays in prison," John Barnes said.
On May 30, 2018, Justin Timberlake surprised survivor Sarah Salazar, a teen who was critically injured in the shooting. He gave her two VIP tickets to his concert in January — her first concert ever. "I was shocked,” Salazar told local station KTRK. “I was just like, 'What's going on?'"
Courtesy Sonia Lopez-Puentes
Mom Rhonda Hart, who lost her daughter Kimberly Vaughan in the shooting, is fighting to stop gun violence. She has traveled to Washington D.C. to talk to lawmakers and even challenged President Donald Trump‘s views on gun policies when he met with survivors and families who lost loved ones.
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Santa Fe High School Shooting: A Look Back 1 Year Later