Texas school shooting suspect held in isolation after confessing; bombs found to be ‘nonfunctional’

SANTA FE, Texas - A student who authorities said confessed to killing 10 people at a Houston-area high school was being held in isolation Saturday as the community continued to mourn.

Two bombs that junior Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, allegedly brought to Santa Fe High School Friday were “intended to be IEDs,” improvised explosive devices, but turned out to be “nonfunctional,” Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said Saturday.

Pagourtzis, who had allegedly posted images of guns and a T-shirt with the words “BORN TO KILL” on social media in the weeks before the shooting, is being held without bond while facing charges of capital murder and aggravated assault on a public servant.

His schoolmates were allowed to return to the school Saturday to retrieve their abandoned belongings.

After surrendering to police at the school, Pagourtzis waived his right to remain silent and confessed to the shooting, authorities said. Pagourtzis said “he did not shoot students he did like so he could have his story told,” according to a probable-cause statement.

Henry questioned the suspected shooter at his initial court appearance Friday. Pagourtzis answered the judge’s questions, admitting the shooting, but said little else, Henry said.

Officials also increased the number of reported injuries at Friday’s shooting from 10 to 13. One of the shooting victims, school police Officer John Barnes, remained in critical but stable condition Saturday after nearly dying from blood loss, police officials said.

“This guy ran toward danger. I can’t thank him enough,” Henry said in an interview. “He’s a hero in my book.”

A close friend, Capt. James Dale of the Houston Police Department, said Barnes might lose his right arm.

“We want to know exactly what went on in there,” Dale said. “All we know is he was the first one in there and he was shot in both arms.”

Walter Braun, chief of the school district’s police department, declined to answer questions about the police response to the shooting or whether the department had seen any warning signs from Pagourtzis before the attack.

“Our officers went in there and did what they could,” Braun said at a news conference. “They did what they were trained for, and went in immediately.”

While the school was now believed to be free of explosives, all district schools will remain closed until at least Tuesday as officials sort through the crime scene.

Officers have been bringing in students 10 at a time to gather belongings from parts of the school that were not closed off, Braun said.

Officials have not yet publicly identified the victims, who were mostly students.

“This is the second time in eight months that we’ve gone through tragedy,” U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, said at a news conference, citing Hurricane Harvey last summer.

“We will pull together,” Weber said. “We will grieve together, we will love one another, we will work together. We did it after Harvey, still doing it after Harvey, we’ll do it after this.”