SANTA FE, Tx. — A gunman opened fire at a Texas high school Friday, killing at least 10 people, most of them students, after placing explosive devices in and around the building, police said.
Nine students and one adult were killed in the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, that erupted before classes began, a law enforcement official not authorized to comment publicly told USA TODAY. The suspect was later taken into custody.
Ten other people were wounded, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said after a briefing on the shootings.
“We come together today as we deal with one of the most heinous attacks that we’ve ever seen in the history of Texas schools,” Abbott said. “It’s impossible to describe the magnitude of the evil of someone who would attack innocent children in a school.”
The shooting was the worst since Feb. 14, when a former student killed 17 people at a Florida high school and ignited a national debate on gun control.
The official said multiple pipe-bomb-type explosives were recovered at the school, but investigators were still going through the building.
The suspect was identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, according to a second official briefed on the investigation but not authorized to comment publicly. It’s not USA TODAY’s policy to identify minors charged with crimes. Due to the magnitude of the event and the fact the suspect could be charged as an adult, USA TODAY has decided to identify the suspect.
Pagourtzis was armed with a shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol, Abbott said. The guns were owned by the boy's father, Abbott said.
Pagourtzis also had a variety of explosives that appeared homemade, including a CO2 device, a Molotov cocktail and other devices, Abbott said.
Investigators were working on search warrants for two residences and a car, but were hampered by concerns about the potential for more explosives, Abbott said.
“They want to make sure they can enter them without anybody being harmed," Abbott said.
The school had two police officers on duty, and one was critically wounded in the shoot-out, according to Steven McGraw, director of the state Department of Public Safety. A state trooper also engaged the gunman, McGraw said.
“We know that because they were willing to run into that a building and engage them right now, other lives were saved," McGraw said.
Pagourtzis told investigators he wanted to commit suicide as part of the shooting, Abbott said.
“He gave himself up and admitted at the time that he didn’t have the courage to commit the suicide to take his own life earlier," Abbott said.
Galveston County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Petroff said Pagourtzis was arrested on suspicion of capital murder and aggravated assault on a peace officer.
Charging documents were expected to be made public later Friday.
At least one other person was in custody, but the official believed the person was not believed to be a suspect.
After explosives were found at the school and off campus, police and the Santa Fe Independent School District urged people to report any suspicious items found around town.
“There have been confirmed reports of explosives found on the campus and off the campus,” Santa Fe Police Chief Jeff Powell said. “That’s our main concern is to keep our community safe.”
Three people from the scene at Santa Fe High School have been admitted to the University of Texas Medical Branch, according to spokesman Raul Reyes.
One patient, an adult man who is believed to work as a police officer at the school, is in critical condition and undergoing surgery, Reyes said. The other two patients are a minor, presumably a student, and a middle-aged woman. Both were shot in the leg and are receiving treatment.
“He is critically ill and stable" in the operating room, Gulshan Sharma, the chief medical officer, said at noon central time of the patient in surgery. The other two patients were stable and in fair condition, he said.
The hospital was not anticipating receiving additional patients from the scene.
Nine patients from the scene were transferred to other Houston-area hospitals. Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster has admitted seven patients and Mainland Medical Center in Texas City has admitted two.
First responders received the first calls about the incident at 7:32 a.m. Witnesses fleeing the scene described a shooter opening fire inside a classroom, as students ran from the school, jumping over fences and fleeing to a nearby carwash, according to KTRK-TV in Houston.
"I was shaking, my anxiety was bad," Megan Hunter said after fleeing her classroom. "I don’t even know what to think."
Reports varied about who pulled the fire alarm. Some students told reporters that students pulled the alarm after seeing the gunman, and one said a former Marine who is a teacher at the school pulled the alarm.
But Tyler Turner, a student at the school, told Fox News that the gunman pulled the alarm. Turner said a few of his friends walked past the gunman, who looked suspicious.
"He pulled the fire alarm so we all went outside, and then we heard 3 shots," Turner said.
Leila Butler, another student, told CNN she didn’t hear gunshots, but just the fire drill that prompted the evacuation.
“We’re all really just devastated that such a tragedy could happen in our small town,” she said. Coupled with Hurricane Harvey at the start of the school year, “it’s more than we can handle,” she said.
TV aerial footage showed groups of students being herded out of the rear of the school and a sheet believed to be covering a body on the lawn outside. Yellow buses stood at the ready to shuttle students away.
President Trump called it a "very sad day" at the White House. He spoke with Abbott and pledged to work with the governor to provide appropriate federal assistance.
"My administration is determined to do everything in our power to protect our students, secure our schools and to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves and to others," Trump said. "May God heal the injured and may God comfort the wounded."
The president ordered flags be flown at half-staff
Officers from Santa Fe Police Department were on the scene, along with Galveston County Sheriff's Office, Houston police, Harris County sheriff, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Several ambulances were also there.
Contributing: The Associated Press