Houston’s police chief has slammed elected officials for not acting on gun control following the latest school shooting that claimed 10 lives just miles away in Sante Fe, Texas.
Police Chief Art Acevedo issued a statement on Facebook saying he’s ‘hit rock bottom’ just hours after 17-year-old student Dimitrios Pagourtis opened fire at Santa Fe High School Friday, killing eight students and two teachers.
‘I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve shed tears of sadness, pain and anger,’ Acevedo wrote of dealing with the 22nd US school shooting in 2018.
He went on to condemn the inaction of elected officials who he said ‘ran to the cameras today, acted in a solemn manner, called for prayers, and will once again do absolutely nothing.’
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo issued a statement on Facebook following the latest school shooting at Santa Fe High school that claimed 10 lives
‘I know some of you have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I’ve hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views as it pertains to this issue,’ Acevedo wrote. ‘Please do not post anything about guns aren’t the problem and there’s little we can do.’
He said that it’s not the time for the ‘thoughts and prayers’ politicians have offered after these types of shooting tragedies, but instead a time for ‘action and the asking of God’s forgiveness for our inaction.’
After posting his statement to Facebook, the chief of police appeared on CBS News’ Face the Nation Sunday to speak on the matter.
He said: ‘We need to start using the ballot box and ballot initiatives to take the matters out of the hands of people that are doing nothing that are elected into the hands of the people to see that the will of the people in this country is actually carried out.’
Acevedo added: ‘People at the state level and the federal level in too many places in our country are not doing anything other than offering prayers.’
The chief said that Officer John Barnes, 45, who was the first to engage the shooter and then was shot in the upper arm is ‘hanging in there’ but is in critical condition.
Acevedo spent 10 years as Austin’s chief of police before assuming the position in Houston in 2016.
He has been vocal about previous mass shootings, marching arm in arm with students in the March for Our Lives rally to protest for gun legislation and school safety in March.
After the Las Vegas massacre last year Acevedo tweeted: ‘When will we stand up & say enough. We’ve failed thousands of families of all ages, races and faith. Stand up and be heard.’
Acevedo has been vocal about previous mass shootings and marched arm in arm with students in the March for Our Lives rally earlier this year
Dimitrios Pagourtzis’s lawyer has described the 17-year-old student as ‘weirdly nonemotional’ following the shooting spree
Dimitrios Pagourtzis has been charged with capital murder after he went on a shooting spree that left 10 dead and 13 injured at Santa Fe High School shortly before 8am local time on Friday.
One of the two lawyer’s hired by the 17-year-old’s parents, Nicholas Poehl said ‘he’s very emotional and weirdly nonemotional,’ the attorney told Reuters when asked to describe his client’s state of mind during the hour they spent together.
‘There are aspects of it he understands and there are aspects he doesn’t understand.’
After he surrendered Pagourtzis waived his right to remain silent and made a statement to authorities admitting to the shooting, according to an affidavit ahead of his arrest.
Poehl said that he know much about what details Pagourtzis may have provided to the police.
‘Honestly because of his emotional state, I don’t have a lot on that,’ he said.
Pagourtzis, left and right, has been charged with capital murder after having confessed to the deadly rampage inside his art class. Investigators are working to determine his motive
Pagourtzis appeared in court via video link on Friday evening but kept his head bowed and barely said a word. He is being represented by attorney Nicholas Poehl
Pagourtzis’ family has said they are ‘as shocked as anyone else’ by the horrific shooting, and are cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
‘While we remain mostly in the dark about the specifics of [Friday’s] tragedy, what we have learned from media reports seems incompatible with the boy we love,’ the family said in a statement.
Investigators are still working to determine the teen’s motive for targeting the art class.
A charging document indicated that Pagourtzis had spared people he liked so he could have his side of the story told.
Witnesses have also said when he burst into classroom he shouted ‘surprise’ and told students ‘you’re going to pay’.
Law enforcement officers responded to reports of the shooting at Santa Fe High School around 8am local time on Friday. Pagourtzis reportedly confessed to the shooting immediately
Pagourtzis shared a photo of a black T-shirt with the words ‘Born to Kill’ printed across the front (left) on his now-deleted Facebook page on April 30. The same day he shared a photo of a dark-colored trenchcoat festooned with various insignia, including the Nazi Iron Cross (right)
The mother of one of the victims has her own theory on what drove Pagourtzis to kill.
Sadie Rodriguez told the Los Angeles Times that her daughter Shana Fisher, 16, had rejected Pagourtzis one week before the shooting after four months of aggressive advances.
Fisher finally stood up to him and embarrassed him in front of the art class, Rodriguez told the Times.
‘A week later he opens fire on everyone he didn’t like,’ she said. ‘Shana being the first one.’
Rodriguez did not say how she knew her daughter was the first victim, according to the newspaper.
The mother of 16-year-old victim Shana Fisher, left and right, has said her daughter had rejected Pagourtzis just one week before the shooting after enduring four months of his aggressive advances. The teen’s mother also indicated that she had been the first one shot
Investigators have been digging into the Pagourtzis’ internet and social media activity as well as examining his journal.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott told reporters that there were no outward signs he had been planning an attack.
The lone red flag that they’ve found is a photo of a T-shirt that read ‘Born to Kill’ on his Facebook page.
The journal revealed that the teen wanted to commit suicide but did not have the courage to do so.
Abbott said Pagourtzis obtained firearms from his father, who had likely acquired them legally, and also left behind explosive devices.
Classmates at the school of some 1,460 students described Pagourtzis as a quiet loner who played on the football team.
They said he wore a trench coat to school on Friday even though temperatures had topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Friday’s rampage has become the fourth-deadliest mass shooting at a US public school in modern history. The Santa Fe community gathered for a prayer vigil on Friday evening
Students and faculty were allowed to retrieve belongs from the school on Saturday, but all schools in the Santa Fe district will remain closed through Tuesday, officials have said.
In a letter to parents Superintendent Leigh Wall said eight of the dead were students and two were teachers.
Authorities had earlier said that nine students and one teacher were killed.
NFL star JJ Watt of the Houston Texans has offered to pay for the funerals of the deceased, local media reported.
‘Absolutely horrific,’ he tweeted about the shooting.
Friday’s rampage has become the fourth-deadliest mass shooting at a US public school in modern history, stoking the country’s long-running debate over gun control.
Santa Fe High School joins a long list of campuses where students and faculty have fallen victim to gun violence, right behind the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead just three months ago.