Victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting will soon get their day in court – six years after eight students and two teachers were killed by a lone gunman south of Houston.
Relatives of those who died, along with some of the survivors, sued the accused teenage shooter and his parents in the aftermath of the massacre on May 18, 2018. The civil trial is set to begin Monday in Galveston County, where a range of victims and witnesses are expected to testify and evidence related to the shooting will be made public for the first time.
Accused shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis, now 23 years old, was charged with capital murder but has yet to face a criminal trial. He remains committed to a state hospital and is not mentally competent to stand trial, based on repeated psychiatric evaluations.
"The parents are very eager to have their day in court," said Clint McGuire, an attorney representing several of the plaintiffs in the civil case. "They feel as though, and rightfully so, that the Santa Fe shooting has been overlooked when it comes to other mass shootings across the country. It's been six years."
The lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages and aims to hold Pagourtzis and his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, responsible for the shooting that left 10 dead and 13 others injured. McGuire said the younger Pagourtzis "meticulously planned" the attack and "knew what he was doing was wrong," adding that his parents "should have known he was depressed" and did not safely store their .38-caliber pistol and 12-gauge shotgun, which were used in the shooting.
There is a recent legal precedent for holding the parents of a mass shooter responsible. Both parents of a Michigan teenager who shot and killed four classmates in 2021 were convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis' defense attorney in the criminal case, Nick Poehl, previously told Houston Public Media that his client's mental state at the time of the shooting and whether he should be held legally responsible would be the crux of his argument in a criminal trial, adding that he does not dispute whether Pagourtzis committed the act.
Lori Laird, the attorney for Pagourtzis' parents in the civil case, did not respond to an email Friday seeking comment. The parents in court filings have denied responsibility for the actions of their son.
McGuire sought to have the younger Pagourtzis provide testimony for the civil trial, but that request was denied by Judge Jack Ewing because Pagourtzis was determined not to be competent to serve as a witness, the attorney said.
The elder Pagourtzis and Kosmetatos were deposed in June, according to McGuire, who said their testimony is subject to a protective order until after the start of the trial. So is evidence that was provided by the Galveston County District Attorney's Office to be used in the civil trial, McGuire said.
"We hope to be able to introduce as much evidence as we can at the trial beginning on Wednesday, which will then be public record for everyone to see," McGuire said.
The trial is expected to start Wednesday after jury selection on Monday and Tuesday, according to McGuire, who said he expects the trial to last 2-3 weeks.
The attorney-provided lists of potential witnesses to be called include survivors of the shooting, relatives of those who died, investigating law enforcement personnel at the local, state and federal levels, medical experts, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, staffers and former students at Santa Fe High School and other people who know Dimitrios Pagourtzis and his family.
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