SANTA FE, Texas — Testimony began Thursday in the civil lawsuit against the parents of accused Santa Fe High School shooting gunman Dimitrios Pagourtzis.
Eight students and two teachers were killed and 13 people were wounded in the May 2018 mass shooting at the school in Galveston County, south of Houston.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, now 23, has repeatedly been ruled incompetent to stand trial, most recently in January. He remains in the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon.
Attorneys representing survivors and victims' families say his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, should be held financially liable for the shooting. During opening statements on Wednesday, they said the parents failed to help their son amid a mental health crisis or to limit his access to the family’s guns.
The first witness on Thursday was Isabelle Laymance, now 21, who was a freshman when the shooting happened. She testified that she helped barricade a door in an art room. Laymance said the shooter began firing through the door and glass in the door, yelling, 'Boom' and singing the song, 'Another One Bites the Dust.'"
Laymance said she still suffers from PTSD, anxiety and depression that began after the shooting.
Former Galveston County deputy Brent Cooley also took the stand. He said he headed to the school after hearing over the scanner that an officer had been shot. He testified that he saw four officers dragging the wounded officer to safety.
"He looked like he was dead," Cooley said.
The deputy said he was outside an art room when he began trying to talk to the shooter. Cooley said the gunman responded with profanities and kept firing before walking out with his hands up.
Cooley said as he handcuffed the suspect, Pagourtzis said, "I didn’t think I could do it."
The deputy entered the art room and saw several victims, including a girl with a phone in her hand. Cooley said the image of 15-year-old Angelique Ramirez still haunts him today.
Things got heated when defense attorney Lori Laird questioned Cooley about his response time. At one point, the judge told them the "sass" was not needed.
The defense said Pagourtzis’ parents are heartbroken by the shooting but their son’s mental illness is ultimately to blame for what happened.
The families have asked for at least $1 million in damages, but the jury could award a higher amount.
