The second person detained by police has not yet been identified
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the shooting “one of the most heinous attacks that we’ve ever seen in the history of Texas schools.”
Explosive devices had also been found, including a molotov cocktail in the suspected shooter’s home and a vehicle around the school and nearby, he adds.
#UPDATE Possible explosive devices have been located at the school and off campus. Law enforcement is in the process of rendering them safe. School has been evacuated. Call 911 if you see any suspicious item. #HouNews #SantaFeISD
Eight of the ten injured were treated at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, says Dr. Safi Magain, the emergency room medical director, adding that six had been released. Madain says one patient remains in critical condition while another is in fair condition.
Tristen Patterson, 16, is a junior at Sante Fe High School, who says he considers Pagourtzis a friend. He says that while Pagourtzis is interested in guns and war simulation video games, he has never talked about killing people.
“We hope the worst is over and I really can’t say any more about that because it would be pure speculation,”said Assistant Principal Chris Richardson told media outlets at the scene.
One student told Houston television station KTRK in a telephone interview that a gunman came into her first-period art class and started shooting.
The student said she saw one girl with blood on her leg as the class evacuated the room.
“We thought it was a fire drill at first but really, the teacher said, ’Start running,”’ the student told the television station.
The student said she didn’t get a good look at the shooter because she was running away. She said students escaped through a door at the back of the classroom.
Authorities have not yet confirmed that report.
“Everybody was just trying to get away from the school,” says John Robson, 16. He says he was in first period English class when the fire alarm went off.
“They kept saying there was a shooter, people were shot,” he says. He says he and other students ran to a nearby Shell station.
“It’s been happening everywhere, I’ve always felt like it was going to happen here too,” said another student, in a televised interview.
If you watch nothing else about the mass shooting at #SantaFe High School in Texas, watch this. Her name is reportedly Paige. #SantaFeHighSchool pic.twitter.com/Xwy5VMCOTK
Aerial footage from the scene showed students standing in a grassy field and three life-flight helicopters landing at the school in Santa Fe, a city of about 13,000 residents roughly 30 miles (48 kilometres) southeast of Houston.
There was a large law enforcement response to the same school in February when it was placed on lockdown after students and teachers said they heard “popping sounds.” Santa Fe police swept the campus but found no threat.
“Unfortunately, I have to begin by expressing our sadness and heartbreak over the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas,” Trump said Friday from the East Room of the White House, in response to the school shooting. “This has been going on too long in our country. Too many years. Too many decades now.”
My heart is so heavy for the students of Santa Fe High School. It’s an all too familiar feeling no one should have to experience. I am so sorry this epidemic touched your town – Parkland will stand with you now and forever. pic.twitter.com/ckVPxYi6qz
