UPDATE: 10 dead, 10 injured after shooting at Santa Fe, Texas high school
Courtesy: KHOU SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas (all times local):
4:33 p.m.
A 17-year-old carrying a shotgun and a revolver opened fire at a Houston-area high school Friday, killing 10 people, most of them students, authorities said. It was the nation's deadliest such attack since the massacre in Florida that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control.
The suspected shooter, who was in custody on murder charges, also had explosive devices, including a Molotov cocktail, that were found in the school and nearby, said Gov. Greg Abbott, who called the assault "one of the most heinous attacks that we've ever seen in the history of Texas schools."
Authorities offered no immediate motive for the shooting. The governor said the assailant intended to kill himself but gave up and told police that he did not have the courage to take his own life.
The deaths were all but certain to re-ignite the national debate over gun regulations, coming just three months after the Parkland, Florida, attack that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
"It's been happening everywhere. I've always kind of felt like that eventually it was going to happen here too," Santa Fe student Paige Curry told Houston television station KTRK. "I don't know. I wasn't surprised. I was just scared."
Another 10 people were wounded at the school in Santa Fe, a city of about 13,000 people roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston. The wounded included a school police officer who was the first to confront the suspect and got shot in the arm.
Michael Farina, 17, said he was on the other side of campus when the shooting began and thought it was a fire drill. He was holding a door open for special education students in wheelchairs when a principal came bounding down the hall and telling everyone to run. Another teacher yelled out, "It is real!"
Students were led to take cover behind a car shop across the street from the school. Some still did not feel safe and began jumping the fence behind the shop to run even farther away, Farina said.
"I debated doing that myself," he said.
The suspect was identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis. A woman who answered the phone at a number associated with the Pagourtzis family declined to speak with the AP.
"Give us our time right now, thank you," she said.
Pagourtzis plays on the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team and is a member of a dance squad with a local Greek Orthodox church. Acquaintances described him as quiet and unassuming, an avid video game player who routinely wore a black trench coat and black boots to class.
The suspect used a shotgun and .38-revolver obtained from his father, who owned them legally, Abbott said. It was not clear whether the father knew his son had taken them.
One or two other people of interest were being interviewed about the shooting, Abbott said.
While cable news channels carried hours of live coverage, survivors of the Feb. 14 Florida attack took to social media to express grief and outrage.
"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," Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Jaclyn Corin said in a tweet.
She also directed her frustration at President Donald Trump, writing "Our children are being MURDERED and you're treating this like a game. This is the 22nd school shooting just this year. DO SOMETHING."
In Texas, senior Logan Roberds said he was near the school's art room when he heard a fire alarm and left the building with other students. Once outside, Roberds said, he heard two loud bangs. He initially thought somebody was loudly hitting a trash can. Then came three more bangs.
"That's when the teachers told us to run," he said.
At that point, Roberds said, he told himself, "Oh my God, this is not fake. This is actually happening."
Roberds said additional gun-control measures are not needed, citing the need for defense against intruders.
"What are you going to do if some guy comes in your house and points a gun at you? You can't do nothing with a knife," he said.
Friday's assault was the deadliest in Texas since a man with a semi-automatic rifle attacked a rural church late last year, killing more than two dozen people.
There were few prior clues about Pagourtzis' behavior, unlike the shootings in Parkland and the church in Sutherland Springs, Abbott said, but the teen wrote in journals of wanting to carry out such an attack and then to end his own life.
In the aftermath of the Florida assault, survivors pulled all-nighters, petitioned city councils and state lawmakers, and organized protests in a grass-roots movement.
Within weeks, state lawmakers adopted changes, including new weapons restrictions. The move cemented the gun-friendly state's break with the National Rifle Association. The NRA fought back with a lawsuit.
In late March, the teens spearheaded one of the largest student protest marches since Vietnam in Washington and inspired hundreds of other marches from California to Japan.
The calls for tighter gun controls that have swelled since February have barely registered in gun-loving Texas — at least to this point.
Texas has some of the most permissive gun laws in the U.S. and just hosted the NRA's annual conference earlier this month. In the run-up to the March primary election, gun control was not a main issue with candidates of either party. Republicans did not soften their views on guns, and Democrats campaigned on a range of issues instead of zeroing in on gun violence.
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1:05 p.m.
A law enforcement official has identified a person in custody in the Houston-area school shooting as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis.
The official was not authorized to discuss the shooting by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
Authorities say eight to 10 people, mostly students, were killed in the nation's deadliest such attack since the massacre in Florida that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control.
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."
Pagourtzis plays on the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team, and is a member of a dance squad with a local Greek Orthodox church.
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1 p.m.
The emergency room medical director at a Texas hospital says the facility has treated eight patients injured in a shooting at a Houston-area school.
Dr. Safi Madain at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center says six of the eight patients have been treated and released. Madain says one patient remains in critical condition and the other is in fair condition.
Madain says all appeared to be high school students with gunshot wounds.
Other victims have been treated at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Dr. David Marshall, chief nursing officer, says one adult male is in critical condition at the hospital. He says that man was shot in the upper arm and is undergoing surgery.
Officials have said eight to 10 people were killed in the Friday morning shooting at Santa Fe High School.
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12:50 p.m.
A student inside the Houston-area high school where several people were fatally shot says he was near the art classroom where the shooting took place.
Eighteen-year-old Logan Roberds says he heard a fire alarm at Santa Fe High School and went outside. He says he then heard two loud bangs, which he didn't initially think were gunshots. He says he thought someone loudly hit a trash can.
But he later heard three loud bangs. He says, "that's when the teachers told us to run." He says he ran with other students to a nearby gas station. His mother says she quickly drove to meet her son.
The local sheriff says eight to 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire inside the school Friday morning. Two people are in custody.
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12:30 p.m.
The police chief at a Houston-area school district says a police officer was shot and wounded during a shooting that killed multiple people at a local high school.
Walter Braun is the police chief of Santa Fe Independent School District. He says the fatal shooting Friday morning at Santa Fe High School also left at least six people wounded, including a police officer.
Dr. David Marshall is the chief nursing officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch in nearby Galveston. He says one man is in critical condition and undergoing surgery at the hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the upper arm. It wasn't immediately clear if the man is the wounded officer.
Two other victims are being treated for gunshot wounds to their legs. Hospital spokesman Raul Reyes says one of those is believed to be a student. The other is a middle-aged woman.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says eight to 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire inside the school. Two people are in custody.
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12 p.m.
Survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, took to social media to express outrage and heartbreak after the latest school shooting in Texas where authorities say a gunman opened fire killing eight to 10 people.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas students Jaclyn Corin said in a tweet Friday that her "heart is so heavy" for the students at Santa Fe High School, telling them Parkland will stand with them.
She also directed her frustration at President Donald Trump, urging him to "DO SOMETHING" because children are being killed.
Classmate David Hogg warned the city that politicians would soon descend on the school acting like they care but are only looking to boost approval ratings.
Corin and Hogg were part of a grassroots movement that rallied hundreds of thousands for gun reform.
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11:50 a.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is headed to the scene of a school shooting outside Houston where officials say as many as 10 people were killed.
Abbott tweeted Friday that he was on his way to Santa Fe High School, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston. The Republican said an afternoon press conference was planned.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says most of the victims were students. He says authorities have also detained two people believed to be students.
Gonzalez says authorities didn't yet have information on the weapon or weapons used.
The White House says President Donald Trump spoke with Abbott to offer his condolences and pledged to work with the governor to provide all appropriate federal assistance
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11:35 a.m.
Authorities say possible explosive devices have been found at and adjacent to the Texas high school where a shooting left as many as 10 people dead.
The Santa Fe Independent School District said in a statement Friday that authorities are in the process of rendering the devices safe.
There's no indication how many devices have been found. Police asked the public to "remain vigilant" and to call 911 if they see any suspicious items in the area.
The school outside Houston went on lockdown around 8 a.m. after an active shooting was reported.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says there "could be 8 to 10 fatalities" from the shooting. Gonzalez says the majority of the dead are students.
The sheriff says one person is in custody and a second person has been detained.
Santa Fe is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
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11:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump is sending condolences for the "absolutely horrific attack" at a Texas high school.
Trump is telling those affected that "we're with you in this tragic hour and we will be with you forever."
He says his administration is working to protect students, secure schools and keep weapons out of the hands of those who want to do harm.
He called this a "very very sad day." Trump says "everyone must work together" to keep children safe.
The local sheriff says the shooting Friday morning at Santa Fe High school left as many as 10 people dead, most of them students. The school is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
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10:50 a.m.
The local sheriff says as many as 10 people may have been killed during a shooting at a high school near Houston, most of them students.
Harris County Sherriff Ed Gonzalez Harris County said there "could be 8 to 10 fatalities" from the shooting Friday morning at Santa Fe High School, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
Gonzalez says the majority of the dead are students.
The sheriff says one person is in custody and a second person has been detained.
Gonzalez says a police officer is among the injured but the extent of the officer's injuries is unknown.
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10:30 a.m.
Officials say at least three people are being treated for gunshot wounds and two people have been detained following a shooting at a high school near Houston.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted Friday that one person is in custody and a second person has been detained following the Friday morning shooting at Santa Fe High School.
Gonzalez says a police officer was injured but the extent of the officer's injuries is unknown.
Gonzalez says there are "multiple casualties" but didn't elaborate. Houston-area media have cited unnamed law enforcement officials saying there were fatalities. The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports.
Dr. David Marshall is chief nursing officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He says one man was undergoing surgery at the hospital Friday morning following the shooting. He says a juvenile has been admitted and a second adult is being treated in the emergency room.
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10:05 a.m.
Houston-area media citing unnamed law enforcement officials are reporting that there are fatalities following a shooting at a high school.
Television station KHOU and the Houston Chronicle are citing unnamed federal, county and police officials following the shooting early Friday at Santa Fe High School, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports.
The school district has confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but is not immediately releasing further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson says a suspect "has been arrested and secured."
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9:30 a.m.
School officials say people have been injured in a shooting at a Houston-area high school and the suspected shooter is in custody.
Assistant Principal Cris Richardson says the suspect in the shooting Friday at Santa Fe High School "has been arrested and secured."
The school district also confirmed an unspecified number of people are injured but provided no other details.
School officials say law enforcement officers are working to secure the building "and initiate all emergency management protocols to release and move students to another location."
Students are being transported to another location to reunite with their parents.
One student told Houston television station KTRK that a gunman came into her first-period class and started shooting. The student says she saw one girl with a bloody leg as the class evacuated.
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Updated: 8:41 a.m. on May 18, 2018
SANTA FE, Texas (AP) -- Law enforcement officers are responding to a high school near Houston after an active shooter was reported on campus.
The Santa Fe school district issued an alert Friday morning saying Santa Fe High School has been placed on lockdown.
Galveston County sheriff's Maj. Douglas Hudson says units are responding to reports of shots fired. He had no immediate details on whether anyone has been hurt.
Santa Fe is a city of about 13,000 residents, located 30 miles southeast of Houston.
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 says she saw one girl with blood on her leg as the class evacuated the room.
Authorities have not yet confirmed that report.
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Updated: 8:26 a.m. on May 18, 2018
SANTA FE, TX (CBSNews) -- A Texas school district south of Houston said there was an active shooter at its high school Friday morning. The school district in Santa Fe, Texas, posted to social media that the district has initiated a lockdown.
The district didn't provide further details.
Police had confirmed to CBS News that multiple officers were on the scene at Santa Fe High School.
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Posted: 8:16 a.m. on May 18, 2018
SANTA FE, TX (CBSNews) -- Police in Texas are responding to reports of an active shooter at a high school south of Houston in Santa Fe. Multiple officers were on the scene at Santa Fe High School, police confirmed to CBS News.
This is a developing story and will be updated.