(Galveston County Sheriff’s Office) Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, is the suspect in a deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas , May 18, 2018.(HOUSTON) — Freshman Peter Matuza was in art class Friday morning when he heard two explosions and ducked under a table.
After diving for cover, Peter saw a gunman enter the classroom and shoot his friend with a shotgun, before turning and opening fire with a revolver, Peter told ABC News.
Ten people were killed and 10 others were wounded after a 17-year-old student allegedly opened fire at Santa Fe High School in Texas Friday morning.
Students were running and screaming and one student flipped a table over for cover, Peter said.
Peter said he made eye contact with the gunman, noting, “he had a face of rage.”
“He could have killed me right there,” he said.
The gunman then “walked through a closet that went straight to the adjacent art room and began opening fire in there, as well,” Peter said.
Peter and his classmates then fled to safety.
Gov. Greg Abbott called the shooting “one of the most heinous attacks that we’ve ever seen in the history of Texas schools.”
“It was horrible. It was something no one should ever have to go through,” Peter said. “Life is a very fragile thing and it can be taken away very easily.”
The suspect, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is in custody and has been charged with capital murder, officials said. The suspect allegedly wrote in journals that he wanted to carry out the shooting and then commit suicide, but he gave himself up to authorities, according to Abbott.
Explosive devices were also found at the school, and devices including a Molotov cocktail were found in a car and a home, authorities said.
There were no warning signs and the suspect doesn’t have a criminal history, officials said.
Peter said, “I’m a Christian and I feel a compulsion to forgive him. … Something happened to cause that boy to do that.”
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