GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas — The father of the accused gunman in the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting took the stand on Thursday.
Antonios and his wife, Rose Marie Kosmetatos, are being sued by families and survivors of the mass shooting that left 10 dead and 13 wounded.
The plaintiffs say the couple should have done more to keep their son, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, from getting access to his father’s shotgun and revolver.
But Pagourtzis denies that he shares any of the blame for the shooting rampage. He said his guns were locked up and he never saw any signs that his son was depressed or being bullied.
Pagourtzis said he rushed to the school after hearing there was a shooting, initially thinking his son was a victim.
"As soon as I go to the front, that man, they say, 'Your son the shooter inside,'" Pagourtzis testified. "The cop is next to me. I said, 'Look, let me go in, you know, because I hear the shooting still, OK?' I say, 'Let me go in, if something happens, let him kill me, don't kill anyone.' That's the time I learn my son is the one, the shooter.'"
Pagourtzis said his son is solely to blame for what happened that day. He will be back on the stand on Friday.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, now 23, has been repeatedly ruled incompetent to stand trial in the criminal case and remains in a state hospital.
In February 2023, survivors and victims’ families settled a separate civil lawsuit with the online company that sold ammunition to the accused gunman.