A Texas jury has determined that the parents of Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the suspect behind the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting which claimed 10 lives, cannot be held liable for their son's actions. The lawsuit had argued that the parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, were negligent by not addressing their son's mental health needs and allowing access to their firearms. The ruling offers a different perspective from a similar case in Michigan, where parents were convicted for their roles in a mass school shooting.
Pagourtzis, who was 17 at the time of the incident and is now 23, has been charged with capital murder. His criminal proceedings have been stalled since he was deemed incompetent to stand trial in November 2019; he remains held in a state mental health facility. The lawsuit was initiated by relatives of seven of the deceased and four of the thirteen wounded in the shooting and sought to hold the parents financially responsible.
During the trial, the defense emphasized that the parents were unaware of their son's severe mental struggles and his unauthorized access to their guns. "You can't secure anything 100%," stated Antonios Pagourtzis. The victims' attorney, Clint McGuire, countered by highlighting missed red flags, such as Dimitrios' concerning social media posts and isolation. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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