GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas — The civil trial against the parents of accused Santa Fe High shooter, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, continued Monday as jurors heard emotional testimony from the families of victims.
Pagourtzis, now 23, has repeatedly been ruled incompetent to stand trial. Attorneys representing survivors and victims' families now seek legal recourse against his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos.
Eight students and two teachers were killed, while 13 other people were wounded in the 2018 mass shooting at the school in Galveston County.
Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student, was among those who died. The 17-year-old was enrolled in 10th grade classes at Santa Fe High School. Her parents testified Monday via Zoom video conference with help from a translator.
Sheikh’s mother, Farah Naz, painted a picture of her daughter as an intelligent girl who loved her family. She explained that Sheikh had earned a scholarship to participate in the 10-month youth exchange program that brought her to Texas.
Sheikh died just 19 days before she was supposed to return home, according to her mother.
RELATED: Former Santa Fe student testifies gunman sang 'Another One Bites the Dust' during school shooting
“She was my oldest child and she was my friend. There hasn’t been a day where I don’t miss her. She had a lot of dreams that she didn’t get to finish or pursue,” Naz said through a translator.
Naz told jurors that she and Sheikh’s father first learned of the shooting at dinner while watching the news.
Sheikh’s father, Abdul Aziz, testified that he immediately tried to call his daughter. He called the exchange program coordinator and friends when she didn't pick up. He was later able to get in touch with Sheikh’s host family, who told him she was dead.
Following her death, Sheikh's family founded the Sabika for Peace Foundation to expand educational opportunities for students in need.
Shooting survivors testify
On Monday, two survivors of the May 2018 shooting also took the stand.
Substitute teacher Flo Rice suffered a broken femur and nerve damage after she was shot six times. Rice told jurors that she had a titanium rod implanted in her left leg, and still deals with PTSD, memory issues and random pain.
Rice testified that she was a substitute for a boys’ basketball class on the day of the shooting.
At some point during the class, Rice heard a fire alarm. On her way to a nearby exit, Rice said she heard loud sounds, saw a flash and fell. Rice testified that she later crawled outside, looked at her legs and realized she’d been shot multiple times.
“That was more terrifying to me than a bomb because I realized someone was hunting me like an animal and they were probably just a few feet away, and they were going to come through that door and shoot me again," she said.
When asked by prosecutors, Rice said she believed Pagourtzis, his parents, Santa Fe High School and ammunition seller Lucky Gunner all shared responsibility for the shooting.
Former student Trenton Beazeley offered Monday’s final testimony.
Beazeley, who was 15 years old at the time, told jurors that he was in art class when he first heard shots ring out. He and other students rushed into a closet with a pottery kiln when the accused shooter entered the room.
Beazeley testified that Pagourtzis fired shots through a gap in the door with a shotgun before students had a chance to close it fully. At some point, Beazeley said he heard sounds from a pistol and thought there were two different shooters -- he was ultimately shot in the back.
Beazeley told jurors the accused shooter taunted his fellow classmates as they were hiding in the closet, asking them if they wanted to pick up their ringing cell phones, and then immediately replied, "You can't, you're dead."