HOUSTON, Texas – A jury on Monday found the parents of the gunman responsible for the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School not financially liable for the attack.
In 2018, Dimitrios Pagourtzis walked into an art class at Santa Fe High School and began firing a shotgun. Eight students and two teachers were killed, and ten others were injured in the active shooter event.
Related Article: Santa Fe ISD Approves $1.5 Million for Security After Deadly Shooting
The teen had no criminal history but had written in journals and on his computer that he wanted to carry out the shooting and then commit suicide. Additionally, the shooter’s social media pages had several images of guns, and a recent post showed him wearing a t-shirt that said, “born to kill.”
A lawsuit that was brought by the Santa Fe High School victims and their families sought to hold Pagourtzis and his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, financially responsible for the shooting, reports the Associated Press. The four survivors and families of seven of the 10 deceased victims who filed the lawsuit argued the parents ignored their son’s declining mental health and didn’t store their guns properly. The father’s shotgun and mother’s handgun were used in the shooting.
Jury Awards $300 Million to Santa Fe High School Victims and Families
The jury did not find the parents responsible for the attack but did find the shooter, who is now 23, responsible. The online ammunition seller Luckygunner was also found to share some liability, reports Click2Houston. Dimitrious was found to be 80% responsible, and Luckygunner was found to be 20% responsible.
The jury awarded the victims and their families more than $300 million in total damages, reports CBS News.
An attorney for the parents said they kept their firearms in a safe and hid the safe’s keys in a bedroom closet, but their son found the keys and stole them.
Related Article: The Crumbley Convictions: Who Should Be Held Responsible for School Shootings?
Dimitrious was charged with capital murder, but the case has been on hold since 2019 when he was deemed incompetent to stand trial. He’s currently being held at a state mental health facility.
This spring, Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of the Oxford High School shooter, were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, making them the first parents of a mass shooter to be held criminally responsible for their child’s actions.
