Texas high school shooting Another school shooting, another community reeling from a (seemingly) never-ending wave of gun violence. And the all-too-familiar cycle that happens after a school shooting starts up again: the initial shock and horror; the mourning of the victims; the anger at the shooter; the verbal battle over gun control, the response (or non-response) from lawmakers. Ten people -- eight students and two teachers -- were killed Friday at Santa Fe High School in Texas, after police say a fellow student opened fire. The shooting lasted a terrifying 30 minutes, with police officers and the gunman exchanging shots for 25 of those minutes. The victims included an exchange student from Pakistan, a substitute teacher and a teen killed a day before his own birthday party. The suspected shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. Officials haven't released a motive, but Pagourtzis has a social media footprint that features a custom T-shirt emblazoned with the words "BORN TO KILL," as well as images of Nazi, communist, fascist and religious symbols. This is the 22nd school shooting with casualties since the beginning of the year - an average of one a week. Incoming NRA President Oliver North said the cause of such attacks is kids on Ritalin. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called out video games, the entertainment industry and throwing God out of school. He also blamed Friday's massacre in part on " too many entrances and too many exits" on the campus. And even after it was revealed that one of the weapons the shooter used was a shotgun, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott still touted a shotgun giveaway on his website. |
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