On Wednesday, a jury was scheduled to hear a lawsuit that alleges negligence on the part of the parents of a former Texas high school student for failing to secure weapons that he used in a shooting at his campus in 2018. The tragic incident claimed the lives of 10 people.
The civil trial regarding the lawsuit filed by family members of seven victims who lost their lives and four of the 13 injured in the attack at Santa Fe High School in May 2018 was anticipated to commence in Galveston, Texas. The opening statements were scheduled to be made.
Authorities charged 17-year-old student Dimitrios Pagourtzis with capital murder for the tragic shooting that took place at a school located about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Houston. The incident resulted in the loss of eight students and two teachers.
Since December 2019, the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon has been the residence of the 23-year-old, who has been declared unfit to stand trial for his criminal charges.
The lawsuit aims to hold Pagourtzis and his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, accountable for the shooting and demands a minimum of $1 million in damages.
According to the lawsuit, Pagourtzis’ parents were aware of their son’s potential for causing harm to himself or others. The document states that Pagourtzis had been demonstrating signs of emotional turmoil and violent ideations, yet his parents failed to take action in seeking help for him or securing the firearms that were stored in their household. These same firearms were allegedly used by Pagourtzis during the shooting.
Clint McGuire, the attorney representing the families of five students who lost their lives and two others who were wounded, expressed his hope for justice to be served in the aftermath of the tragic incident.
An email seeking comment was sent to Lori Laird, the attorney representing Pagourtzis’ parents, but there has been no immediate response.
According to Roberto Torres, the lawyer representing Pagourtzis in the lawsuit, the allegations against his client are unfounded. He argued in a court filing that due to mental impairment or illness, Pagourtzis lacked the capacity to have a reasonable degree of rational understanding or control over his actions.
It is anticipated that the trial may take as long as three weeks to conclude.
The commencement of the civil trial has been a source of relief for the relatives of the deceased and injured individuals. They have been longing for a sense of closure, but the delay in Pagourtzis’ criminal trial has been a cause of frustration for them for years.
The families of the victims in the tragic shooting incident accused Lucky Gunner, an online retailer from Tennessee, of illegally selling ammunition to Pagourtzis. The retailer was also one of the defendants in the lawsuit. However, in 2023, the families reached a settlement with the retailer. The accusation against the retailer was that they failed to verify Pagourtzis’ age when he purchased over 100 rounds of ammunition on two separate occasions before the shooting took place.
Numerous lawsuits similar to this one have been filed in the aftermath of mass shootings.
A Waffle House shooting in Nashville, Tennessee resulted in the death of four people. In 2022, a jury awarded the mother of one of the victims a compensation of more than $200 million. The lawsuit was filed against the shooter and his father, who allegedly returned a rifle to his son despite knowing about his mental health condition prior to the shooting incident.
A Michigan judge sentenced Jennifer and James Crumbley to a minimum of 10 years in prison in April. This marked the first time parents have been convicted in a mass school shooting in the United States.
