A substitute teacher and an exchange student from Pakistan have been confirmed as being among the 10 people killed when a crazed gunman stormed a Texas school on Friday.
Ann Perkins, 64, was a substitute teacher, whose daughter Ashley pleaded for information about her mother’s whereabouts on Friday before the tragic news of her death was confirmed.
She was a grandmother and was described by one of her students as ‘wonderful’ and ‘amazing’.
Ann Perkins, 64, was a substitute teacher, was one of the first victims of the shooting to be named
Exchange student Sabika Sheikh was part of the YES Pakistan program, and her death was confirmed by the Pakistani Embassy in Washington D.C
A gymnastics club which her daughter once attended paid tribute to Perkins, writing: ‘It is with an extremely heavy heart that we are asking you to please keep TNT Alumni, Ashley, and her dad, Steve, in your prayers.
‘Ashley’s mom, Ms. Ann, has passed away as a result of today’s tragic events. She was an amazing mom and an adored substitute who was loved by all.’
A friend wrote on Twitter: ‘Ann Perkins was a beloved teacher, family friend, & woman. She enjoyed spending time with her children, grandchildren, & students.
‘She lived an impeccable life filled with traveling, love, family, & a bit of champagne. Rest easy our beautiful nurturing angel. I love you.’
A student named Carsen wrote: ‘RIP to the wonderful and lovely Mrs. Ann Perkins. I love you so much and you were by far one of my favorite teachers. Fly high angel. You are and will always be amazing.’
Exchange student Sabika Sheikh was part of the YES Pakistan program, and her death was confirmed by the Pakistani Embassy in Washington D.C.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with Sabika’s family and friends,’ Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said in a statement, CBS News reports.
YES program manager Megan Lysaght wrote in an email to YES Pakistan students: ‘Please know that the YES program is devastated by this loss and we will remember Sabika and her families in our thoughts and prayers.’
Rome Shubert, a University of Huston baseball commitment and a sophomore pitcher for Santa Fe High School, was shot in the back of the head, but survived and was well enough to tweet about the tragedy Friday afternoon.
‘I’m so greatful and blessed that god spared me life today,’ he wrote. ‘Today I was shot in the back of the head but i am completely okay and stable.’
He told the Houston Chronicle was in his classroom when gunshots rang out.
Rome Shubert (pictured left and right), a University of Huston baseball commitment and a sophomore pitcher for Santa Fe High School, was shot in the head
‘I’m so greatful and blessed that god spared me life today,’ he wrote after the shooting in Santa Fe
‘I was sitting doing my work and he walked in, tossed something on the desks behind me,’ Shubert, who has returned from hospital, added. ‘Then three loud pops and I jumped under my table and flipped it in front of me and I guess he ran out in the hall and I took off out the back door and when I was running I realized I was shot in the back of my head.’
The teen said he didn’t realize he had been shot at first because he was so scared and had so much adrenaline. The bullet ‘missed everything vital’.
In a follow-up tweet, Shubert wrote: ‘Thank you for all your prayers and the support. Prayers going out to all the others who are affected.’
John Barnes, 49, a retired Houston police officer now working as the Santa Fe resource officer and was first to confront him, was shot in the elbow and was hospitalized in critical condition.
Dr. David Marshall, chief nursing officer at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, said Friday afternoon Barnes is in stable condition.
Marshall says a bullet hit Barnes’ arm, damaging the bone and a major blood vessel around his elbow. He says the blood vessel has been repaired, and that Barnes is expected to emerge from surgery within a few hours.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted that Barnes, who is married, was sworn in as an officer in 1995 and retired from the force this past January.
Hero cop: Santa Fe school resource officer John Barnes, 49, pictured above with his wife, is in surgery after engaging the shooter and suffering a gunshot wound to the arm
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, has been arrested
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old high school junior, allegedly burst into an art classroom at his school yelling ‘Surprise!’ while brandishing his father’s shotgun and pistol, before opening fire and gunning down nine students and a teacher.
Pagourtzis was clad in a ‘Born to Kill’ T-shirt when he embarked on his rampage during first period at Santa Fe High School in Texas, police say.
He subsequently surrendered when confronted by police, who say he backed out of his original plan to commit suicide at the end of the massacre, but not before planting explosives around the school.
Police subsequently released a mugshot of dead-eyed Pagourtzis who is being held without bond in the Galveston County jail on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a peace officer.
As well as being accused of killing 10, he also injured 10 more.
Officials are also questioning two other students who were detained after the shooting. They have not been named.
Santa Fe High School in Texas was on lockdown after a shooter stormed into a class and killed 10 people Friday morning