'He's a victim': Texas shooting suspect's father breaks his silence

Antonios Pagourtzis, the father of the teenager who shot and killed students at his Santa Fe school, spoke to the reporters over the weekend. He shared his thoughts on why his son, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, had gone on a killing spree.

Antonios spoke to Greece’s Antenna TV over a phone interview in Greek. He claimed that his son was the victim in this incident and had been pushed to do what he did.

Dimitrios, 17, from Santa Fe, Texas is a student accused of fatally shooting 10 people at his high school. In a phone interview, his father Antonios said he wished he could have stopped the killing on Friday at Santa Fe High School.

The father’s voice cracked as he described how he’d urged the police to let him inside the school. At the time he’d wanted his son to kill him instead.

His father told reporters that something must have happened within the last week that caused his child to react the way he did. The suspect’s attorney, Nicholas Poehl, said he was investigating whether his client had endured any “teacher-on-student” bullying.

This was after he’d read reports about the teenager being mistreated by football coaches. The school district had issued a statement saying it investigated the accusations and confirmed that the reports were untrue.

“Somebody probably came and hurt him, and since he was a solid boy, I don’t know what could have happened. I can’t say what happened.”

Antonios Pagourtzis, Antenna TV, May 19, 2018

The boy’s father said his son had taken a legally owned shotgun and a handgun from his closet before leaving for school that day. Dimitrios didn’t personally own any firearms.

The suspect is being held in the Galveston County jail on capital murder charges. It’s been reported that 8 students and 2 teachers were killed in the attack, with 13 others wounded.

The father of the suspect revealed that his son had never displayed any signs that showed that he was capable of such violence. Antonios explained that the teenager never fought with others, didn’t drink alcohol, and appeared to enjoy a healthy lifestyle like working out.

Dimitrios’ father said he might’ve pulled the trigger but he was not that kind of person. He said it was like his son had been taken over by something else.

After the suspect had been taken into custody, Antonios and his wife were allowed to visit him for 15 to 20 minutes. During the visit, the father shared that all he saw was a child.

He revealed that he didn’t see a child who was a murderer but a pure one. Antonios said that his son was ashamed to even look him in the face.

The teenager showed concern for his sisters and how they would cope. He told both his parents that he loved them and would try and remain strong for them.

The father of the suspect shared that his son told him that he had acted on his own. Dimitrios confessed that he had spared “the kids who were the good kids so they can tell his story.”