Some Santa Fe High Shooting Victims May Not Have Been Killed by Dimitrios Pagourtzis

Mourners gather during a prayer vigil following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

 

Mourners gather during a prayer vigil following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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More details are being revealed about the massacre at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead and 13 others wounded.

One of the wounded is retired Houston police Officer John Barnes, who served as a resource officer at the school and confronted the gunman.

Responding officers arrived at the school’s art lab section about four minutes into the shooting and engaged the gunman right away in what became a 25-minute shootout.

When the shooting was over eight students and two teachers were dead. The evildoer suspect, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was in custody.

According to CNN, It is unclear whether all the victims were shot by the suspect, or whether some were shot by officers during the crossfire. Authorities are waiting for the medical examiner’s autopsies to make that determination.

I have the greatest of respect and admiration for the brave officers who didn’t hesitate and immediately responded and engaged the shooter. I strongly believe that is the best way to deal with an active shooter. You can’t wait a second. Unfortunately, law enforcement officers don’t have the best aim when involved in shooting incidents. Study after study finds that when faced with an armed suspect less than 20 percent of the rounds fired police officers hit their target. So it shouldn’t be surprising if some of the victims were hit by police fire during the shootout.

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Pagourtzis is being held without bail and is accused of capital murder and aggravated assault on a public servant. This evildoer won’t face the death penalty if he is convicted. The maximum sentence he can face is  life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

Even though he’s been charged as an adult, Pagourtzis will not face the death penalty due to a 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which prohibits a state from putting to death someone who is under the age of 18.

Pagourtzis could also be spared life in prison without parole. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that states could not impose mandatory life in prison without parole sentences for juveniles convicted of murder:

In 2013, Texas enacted a law that allows juveniles convicted of capital murder to be sentenced to life in prison with an option for parole after 40 years.

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