‘VICTIM’

Father of Alleged Santa Fe Shooter: My Son ‘Is a Victim’

Antonios Pagourtzis said that he believes his son was bullied.

The father of the alleged Santa Fe High School shooter, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, told a news outlet in Greece that his son was a victim of bullying, according to the Associated Press. “Something must have happened now, this last week,” Antonios Pagourtzis said. “Somebody probably came and hurt him, and since he was a solid boy, I don’t know what could have happened. I can’t say what happened. All I can say is what I suspect as a father.” He said that Dimitrios Pagourtzis took a shotgun and handgun that he owned from his closet. “My son, to me, is not a criminal, he’s a victim,” the father said. Lawyers for Pagourtzis said that they were investigating “teacher-on-student” bullying, possibly involving the teen’s football coaches, but the school district claimed they investigated those accusations and “confirmed” they were false. During a prison visit, Pagourtzis allegedly told his father he acted alone and spared the kids in the shooting “who were the good kids so they can tell his story.”