Parents of Santa Fe School Shooter Found Not Negligent in Civil Trial

On Aug. 19, following a three-week civil trial, the parents of the accused shooter in the 2018 school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, were found not financially liable for the deaths of 10 people, including eight students and two teachers.

The lawsuit alleged the parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, failed to provide necessary support for their son's mental health and did not do enough to prevent him from accessing their guns.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis was 17 when he entered Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018, and opened fire, using improperly secured weapons owned by his parents. Pagourtzis has been charged with capital murder, but criminal proceedings were placed on hold when he was declared incompetent to stand trial.

Attorneys for the victims' families expressed disappointment at the outcome.

Just this week at the Democratic National Convention, candidates and advocates alike have repeatedly highlighted the right of students and parents to feel free from the specter of gun violence in our schools. This verdict reinforces the need for stronger gun violence prevention laws in Texas. For example, our current child access prevention (CAP) law only assumes liability when adults make firearms available to minors under 17.

Gun safety continues to be a top community issue for Texas AFT members, and we will continue to work with coalition partners to advocate for commonsense change in our firearms laws.