The country continues to mourn following the most recent high school shooting that occurred last week in Santa Fe, Texas.
Student Dimitrios Pagourtzis has been charged with the shooting deaths of 10 people. At least 10 others were injured during Friday’s rampage.
In the wake of the horrific event, the teen’s heartbroken father is speaking out in the hopes of shedding light on his son’s evil actions.
Antonios Pagourtzis told reporters that his son was a “good boy” who had been “mistreated at school.”
Pagourtzis called his son a “victim” of bullying, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I believe that’s what was behind [the shooting]” Pagourtsiz said.
Though Dimitrios Pagourtzis surrendered to police following the shooting last Friday, he had reportedly planned to shoot himself last.
According to CNN, Dimitrios is currently being held without bond at the Galveston County Jail and is also on suicide watch. He has admitted to breaking into a room at the school.
The teen’s father is a Greek immigrant who owns North American Marine Inc., a Houston-based shipping repair company. He spoke to Greek television station Antenna TV about the incident.
“Something must have happened now, this last week. 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,” Antonios Pagourtzis told the station, according to TIME
“He never got into a fight with anyone,” he added. “I don’t know what happened. I hope God helps me and my family understand. We are all devastated. It would have been better if he shot me than all those kids.”
Antonios also told the station that he visited his son at the Galveston County Jail on Saturday.
“He could not look at me in the eyes. He is confused, can’t remember what happened. He said he wants to apologize to his sisters. He said he’ll be strong and help us see this through.”
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Antonios expressed the utter sadness his family feels following the shooting.
“I only went to grammar school. I left from my village in northern Greece when I was 12. I only had the clothes I wore and an extra pair of boots. This country treated us well. I worked hard and became a shipowner. I had three ships, which I sold. … Now our lives are shattered,” the heartbroken father said.
The 17-year-old used two legally owned guns that belonged to his father: a shotgun and a .38 revolver. There were also fake explosives found in Dimitrios’s home as well as at the school.
(H/T: The Christian Post)