Dimitri Pagourtzis, 17, is being held without bond in Galveston County Jail in Texas
New details have emerged about the parents of the accused Texas school shooter who killed ten and injured ten on Friday.
Suspected gunman Dimitrios ‘Dimitri’ Pagourtzis, 17, is the eldest child of Antonios Pagourtzis, 63, and Rose Maria Kosmetatos, 48, who married in 2000 in Harris County, Texas.
Dimitri Pagourtzis is being held without bond in Galveston County Jail after allegedly shooting up Santa Fe High School, where he was a student, and planting pipe bombs around the school.
The guns used, a shotgun and a .38 caliber revolver, were legally owned by Antonios Pagourtzis, officials said. It is unclear whether the father realized his son had taken the weapons.
Antonios Pagourtzis was born in the Greek village of Magoulitsa, a small town of 540 residents in western Thessaly, according to his Facebook page.
Father Antonios Pagourtzis (left) is seen with mother Rose Maria Kosmetatos, their son Dimitri and their younger daughter in this family photo from 2013
This 2013 photo shows Antonios Pagourtzis and children visiting Rockefeller Plaza in New York
Greek immigrant Antonios Pagourtzis (above) owns an industrial ship repair and cleaning firm called North American Marine, Inc based in Houston
One Facebook photo shows Antonios Pagourtzis helping instruct children in bows and arrows. None seem related to firearms however
Antonios Pagourtzis’ Facebook page (above) showed he liked NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch as well as Fox News
The father liked NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch as well as Fox News on Facebook.
His other interests on the site appeared non-political, and include a restaurant and several cities near his hometown in Greece.
One Facebook photo shows Antonios Pagourtzis helping instruct children in bows and arrows. None seem related to firearms however.
State records show that Antonios Pagourtzis owns an industrial ship repair and cleaning firm called North American Marine, Inc. The company is headquartered in a warehouse in an industrial area on the south side of Houston.
The suspect’s mother, Rose Maria Kosmetatos, appears to work as a medical administrator. State records list a Rosemarie K Pagourtzis employed as an administrative associate in The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston’s department of Pediatric Endocrinology.
Based on family photos, the parents seem to have a younger daughter in addition to Dimitri Pagourtzis.
The family appears to be involved in traditional Greek dancing through an Orthodox church in Galveston, not far from Santa Fe High School.
The family appears to be involved in traditional Greek dancing through an Orthodox church in Galveston, not far from Santa Fe High School. Dimitri Pagourtzis is circled far right
The family is involved with their local Greek Orthodox church and a priest there expressed surprise that Dimitri Pagourtzis was accused in the shooting
Antonios Pagourtzis was born in the Greek village of Magoulitsa (pictured), a small town of 540 residents in western Thessaly
‘He is a quiet boy,’ Father Stelios Sitaras of Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church told Click2Houston of the alleged shooter. ‘You would never think he would do anything like this’
On Friday, authorities were searching a trailer home associated with the family about three miles from the school. Officials said explosive devices including a Molotov cocktail had been found in the suspected shooter’s home and a vehicle as well as around the school and nearby.
‘Please don’t call us. Give us our time right now, thank you,’ said a woman reached by the Associated Press at a phone number associated with the family.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Dimitri Pagourtzis wrote about planning the attack in journals on his computer and in his cellphone that police obtained.
That was inconsistent with the portrait painted by his friends – a reserved young man, an athlete who had discussed wanting to own guns but who was said not to have given warning signs of impending violence.
‘Not only did he want to commit the shooting but he wanted to commit suicide after the shooting,’ Abbott said, adding that Pagourtzis told authorities he ‘didn’t have the courage’ to take his own life.
Abbott said the early investigation showed no prior criminal history for Pagourtzis – no arrests and no confrontations with law enforcement.
Yet the accused shooter’s social media accounts do show disturbing images in recent days, including the ‘born to kill’ T-shirt he wore during the rampage, and a trenchcoat adorned with Nazi and Communist symbols.
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.
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, (top right) 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 dragon-like creature invented by American pulp fiction 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.’