HOUSTON – During the ongoing civil trial surrounding the tragic 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, Antonios Pagourtzis, the father of the accused gunman Dimitrios Pagourtzis (DP) provided crucial testimony.
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As he took the stand, questions focused on his awareness and potential responsibility for his son’s actions.
Antonios described his relationship with his son as “perfect,” acknowledging that while DP had expressed individual issues with friends at times, he never confided about feeling disliked at school. Despite this, Antonios noted that he had seen DP depressed before but never suspected any severe underlying issues.
In a key part of his testimony, Antonios admitted he did not know when or how DP obtained the .38 pistol used in the shooting. He confirmed that DP had taken multiple shotguns from their gun cabinet, sawed off the barrels, and used them in the attack. Antonios stated he checked the gun cabinet six weeks before the shooting and found all firearms accounted for.
Antonios also said he was unaware of DP’s bomb-making activities at their home and a trailer in Santa Fe, including a bomb detonation in their garage. He also did not know about 29 separate deliveries to their house or DP’s online behavior, such as posting a “Born to Kill” T-shirt on Facebook and his fascination with Hitler and the Virginia Tech shooter.
When questioned about his role in potentially preventing the tragedy, Antonios maintained that he and his wife Rose did their best in raising DP and could not have foreseen the shooting. He emphasized that parents do the best they can, guided by Christian values, and indicated he took no personal responsibility for the incident.
Antonios recounted his actions on the day of the shooting, detailing he went to the high school in search of his son once he heard about the shooting. He revealed that upon learning DP was the shooter, he asked police to let him inside the school so his son could kill him instead of anyone else.
Antonios was heavily questioned about the firearms inside his home. When asked how many firearms he had, he answered “17, including a handgun.” He also admitted to not taking extra precautions to secure the weapons, such as removing firing pins or ensuring the gun-safe key was properly secured. Despite these revelations, Antonios still denied any legal responsibility for DP’s actions, arguing that he saw no red flags.