This is the ‘born to kill’ T-shirt worn by the Texas school gunman during his rampage, which he posted on social media days before the massacre alongside a trenchcoat adorned with Nazi and Communist symbols.
Dimitrios ‘Dimitri’ Pagourtzis, 17, was named by police as the student gunman who entered an art class at Santa Fe High School with the word ‘Surprise!’ before shooting dead ten classmates with a shotgun and .38 revolver stolen from his father.
The 11th-grader’s now-deleted social media pages offer a chilling insight into his state of mind leading up to the atrocity, with an Instagram post published in late April showing a handgun, a knife and a torch with the caption, ‘Hi, f*****s’.
Dimitrios ‘Dimitri’ Pagourtzis shared this photo of a black T-shirt with the words ‘born to kill’ printed across the front on his now-deleted Facebook page on April 30
The Facebook post showing the black ‘born to kill’ T-shirt was published on April 30. Witnesses told CW39 they saw Pagourtzis wearing this shirt during the shooting along with combat-style boots.
The dark-colored trenchcoat festooned with a Nazi Iron Cross appeared on Facebook the same day, with additional patches on the garb including the rising sun, a Communist hammer and sickle pin and a depiction of the idol Baphomet.
This booking photo from the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office shows Pagourtzis who is being held on a capital murder charge stemming from Friday’s deadly shooting
Explaining the symbols, Pagourtzis wrote: ‘Duster Hammer and Sickle = Rebellion Rising Sun = Kamikaze Tactics Iron Cross = Bravery Baphomet = Evil Cthulhu = Power.’
Students at Santa Fe High told NBC News THAT Pagourtzis wore a trenchcoat and black boots to school every day.
Columbine High School killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were dressed in trenchcoats when they murdered 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves in 1999.
Dustin Severin, 17, told KPRC-TV he saw Pagourtzis in the hallway before the shooting wearing his ‘usual outfit.’
Pagourtzis plays on the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team, and is a member of a dance squad at a local Greek Orthodox church.
Severin said the teen has been picked on by football coaches ‘for smelling bad’,’ and he described Pagourtzis as someone who keeps to himself.
Tristen Patterson, 16, who introduced himself as a friend of Pagourtzis’, said he is interested in guns and war simulation video games, but had never talked about killing people.
A dark-colored trenchcoat festooned with a Nazi Iron Cross (top right) appeared on Facebook the same day, with additional patches on the garb including the rising sun, a Communist hammer and sickle pin (top left) a depiction of Baphomet, an idol the Knights Templar were accused of worshiping (right) and Cthulhu, (bottom left) a character created by US writer H. P. Lovecraft
The 11th-grader’s now-deleted social media pages offer a chilling insight into his state of mind leading up to the atrocity, with an Instagram post published in late April showing a handgun, a knife and a torch with the caption, ‘Hi, f*****s’
Patterson also claimed that the high school junior did not show signs of bullying, but would sometimes enter the classroom ‘acting a little bit down or sad. A little bit sluggish.’ ‘He wouldn’t say why,’ Patterson added.
Pagourtzis followed multiple gun-related accounts, including ‘sickguns,’ ‘gunspictures’, and several others called Guns Fanatics, Guns Lovers and Guns Glory.
The background photo of his Facebook page was the album cover for Dangerous Days by French electronic artist Perturbator. One song on that album is called Humans Are Such Easy Prey.
Father Stelios Sitaras of Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Galveston, Texas, said he met Pagourtzis when the young man danced with a group as part of an annual festival in October. He said the Pagourtzises are members of a nearby parish.
The background photo of his Facebook page was the album cover for Dangerous Days by French electronic artist Perturbator. One song on that album is called Humans Are Such Easy Prey
People who knew Pagourtzis disagreed about whether he had been bullied. This Instagram photo shows him firing a gun in an arcade
Sitaras said he had never heard of the teen being in any sort of trouble.
‘He is a quiet boy,’ the priest said. ‘You would never think he would do anything like this.’
Logan Roberds, an 18-year-old senior, said he was shocked to learn that Pagourtzis might be involved in the shooting.
‘He’s a very nice, caring kid,’ said Roberds, who shared some classes with Pagourtzis. ‘He’s very chill.’
Roberds said Pagourtzis had friends and was fond of wearing a trenchcoat. ‘That was just his style,’ Roberds said.
Michael Farina, 17, grew up with Pagourtzis and would play video games with him. He said Pagourtzis knew a lot about guns and remembered him asking which one he should get when he was older.
‘I’m kind of dumbfounded. We didn’t get any warning,’ Farina said.
At a press conference this afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Pagourtzis originally intended to commit suicide but gave himself up. Pictured: Photos from his Facebook
He said a black trenchcoat and black boots was Pagourtzis’s regular outfit to school. ‘I guess you could say it was his kind of style,’ Farina said. He said he wasn’t someone who got into trouble and described him as a ‘run of the mill’ student.
At a press conference this afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Pagourtzis originally intended to commit suicide but gave himself up and told authorities that he did not have the courage to take his own life.
‘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 suicide.’
The weapons Pagourtzis is said to have used in the shooting were stolen from his father, who legally owned them. Pictured are images of him from Facebook
The weapons Pagourtzis is said to have used in the shooting were stolen from his father, who legally owned them.
‘Neither of these weapons were owned or legally possessed by the shooter,’ Abbott said. ‘I have no information if the father was aware the son had taken these weapons.’
Explosive devices including a Molotov cocktail were found in Pagourtzis’ home and a vehicle as well as around the school and nearby.
A woman who answered the phone at a number associated with the Pagourtzis family declined to speak with the AP. She said: ‘Give us our time right now, thank you.’