A jury in Galveston, Texas, ruled that the parents of Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the former student who killed 10 people in a school shooting in 2018, cannot be held responsible for the tragedy. The victims’ lawsuit alleged that the parents failed to provide support for their son’s mental health and did not do enough to prevent him from accessing their guns. The jury did hold Dimitrios Pagourtzis responsible and awarded the families more than $300 million in damages. Pagourtzis, who is now 23, has been charged with capital murder but was declared incompetent to stand trial in 2019 and is currently held at a state mental health facility.
The lawsuit was filed by relatives of the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting, where Pagourtzis fatally shot eight students and two teachers. His parents testified during the trial, stating that they were not aware of his mental health issues or online purchases of weapons. The family stored firearms in a gun safe and display cabinet, but Pagourtzis accessed his mother’s handgun and father’s shotgun during the shooting.
Similar cases have been filed following other mass shootings, including a lawsuit against the father of a shooter in a Waffle House incident resulting in a settlement of over $200 million. The jury’s decision in the Pagourtzis case highlights the complex legal and ethical questions surrounding parental responsibility in cases of mass violence.
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