Topic > Overview of the Santa Fe High School Mass Shootings

Mass shootings are a major concern for many Americans. A person engaged in staging a mass shooting adds to the numerous previous shootings that have occurred in this country. The general public has had to deal with violence for decades. Mass shootings at public schools and elsewhere have left lawmakers confused about what the government can do to stop the killings. Mass killings are becoming more aggressive and active killings have become more frequent. There are many debatable factors as to why an individual would become a mass shooter; mental illness, deviant behavior, victim of bullying at school, sociological and psychological disorders. To some extent, an individual cannot control these factors without proper help. While there is no widespread definition of what constitutes a mass shooter, the Federal Bureau Investigation defines “Active Shooter as an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area” (FBI). For example, the Santa Fe High School shooting was one of the most egregious attacks Americans have ever witnessed in today's era. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As a matter of fact, one of the hypotheses that researchers consider as a factor is interpersonal interaction with others. Most young shooters between the ages of 12 and 18 withdraw from interacting with other people, they seem to close themselves off from society. The young person feels as if he has failed and cannot be socially accepted. As a result, the child begins to experience delinquent and learned negative behaviors. “August Aichhorn (1936) was inspired by the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud and suggested that young delinquents had difficulty conforming to the expectations of their parents and society because they had not developed a healthy superego” juvenile justice, (p.37). “Fritz Redl and David Wineman (1951) also argued that young delinquents had an inadequate superego, so much so that they tended to follow the impulses and drives of the id” juvenile justice, (p.38). In fact, "criminologists have traditionally considered the causes of delinquency and criminal behavior not as biogenetic or psychological in nature, but as a social problem" of juvenile justice (p.46). This statement seems logical because in the case of 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis accused of the Santa Fe High School shooting on May 18, 2018. One of his classmate Dimitrios Pagourtzis's witnesses displayed a worried demeanor. "Bryton Sumbles, a former football player at the school, told ABC News that he reported Pagourtzis to teachers in the past because he thought it was strange that he was wearing a trench coat in 37-degree weather, and thought it would be easy to hide a gun underneath the coat. Nothing seemed to emerge from the report, Sumbles said” (ABC News). Furthermore, Dimitrios Pagourtzis has had worrying behavior on social media “On Facebook, Pagourtzis declares himself a religious atheist and wrote “I hate politics” from a political perspective. On April 30, he posted a photo of a T-shirt that read “Born to Kill” (ABC News). The influence a parent can have on a child and the affection can be positive or negative. They can witness or have a casual experience in the social world. As the child grows up, this can have consequencessignificant on youth lifestyle. My parents said that my grandparents were very strict and couldn't do many activities or communicate with certain people. Nowadays, young people can communicate via video games and don't have to leave home. Regarding the Dimitrios case, he spends a lot of time expressing his feelings on Facebook. I believe his parents didn't know or weren't supervising his social media. The South China Moring Post states that Antonio Pagourtzis, Dimitrios' father, stated that "the suspected son was under pressure, perhaps due to bullying", went on to discuss how his son was not violent, intelligent, silent and remained aloof . However, Governor Greg Abbott said that "Dimitrios Pagourtzis wrote about planning the attack in newspapers, on his computer and on his cell phone that police obtained" (Boston News). Another theory is the control theory, “delinquency is more likely among youth who lack social bonds and positive social interactions between parents and peers” juvenile justice, (p. 51). In the case of Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the Santa Fe High School mass shooter, no one in that small Texas town expected anything close to a mass shooting to occur at their school. Santa Fe High School has approximately 1,500 students in grades 9 through 12. The school is located just north of Tx Highway 6. (School District Reference Map (2010 Census): Galveston County, Tx. US Census Bureau). Before the school massacre, Santa Fe High School was in the local news because at sporting events the football team prayed together before the start of the football game. Some took issue with the practice and wanted prayers to be prayed for before the games ended. The team decided they wanted to continue praying before the competition began. Therefore, the team filed a lawsuit in the case Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe. (Santa Fe Independent School Dist. V. Doe, 530 US 290). It's a safe bet that the people of this community would never have thought that something like this could happen in their community's high school. The students were unaware that such a tragedy was imminent, and probably for good reason. Although Dimitrios Pagourtzis displayed some characteristics of delinquent behavior when he posted "born to kill" on his Facebook page, it can be argued that this alone was not an indicator that he would behave in such a dangerous manner. We have become a desensitized society with the advent of social media. What we see today on various social sites, a few decades ago, programmers would never have shown it on television. In fact, in my email I found a seller who was selling a t-shirt. The t-shirt logo was aimed at those who love the military. It said, “Born to train, trained to kill.” Doing a search on Amazon, I found many t-shirts with the words “Born to kill” on them. In fact, all of these referred to the film. The mystery of why he did this will likely only be discovered after an examination of his life. In the meantime it's just speculation. The good thing is that he is still alive; and a trial will begin in 2020. In the meantime, speculation will continue. One of the mothers of the shooting victims said Dimitrios had made advances towards her daughter before the shooting. However, he refused to have anything to do with him. The student said he previously dated her best friend, (US Politics). CNN reported that “Pagourtzis used a rifle and a .38 revolver to shoot and kill 8 students and 2 teachers. He injured 13 others. The office ofGalveston County sheriff reported that Pagourtzis said he targeted some victims and did not want to harm students with whom he had no grudge” (CNN). Although Pagourtzis talked about targeting some students, he contradicts that statement with what he did in his preparation before the shooting occurred. The Harris County Sheriff's Office reported "that they found a modified pressure cooker simulating a bomb and a Molotov cocktail found near the school." ”, (HCSO). Both of these objects are believed to have been placed in those locations by Dimitrios Pagourtzis. Perhaps Dimitrios lacked interpersonal skills. Maybe he didn't feel comfortable interacting with others. It is possible that he was experiencing narcissistic behavior. Juvenile delinquency is a recipe for many social, emotional and learned behaviors, which if not of a positive nature can be lessons in criminality. Do his parents bear any responsibility for what he did? In May 2018, ABC 13 News reported that several of the victim's parents are filing civil lawsuits against the parents of Dimitrios Pagourtzis. The parents of Aaron McLeod and Chris Stone are just two of many who believe Dimitrios' parents are indirectly responsible for not stopping their son from committing the mass shooting in Santa Fe. Interestingly, for many parents, allowing their high school children to supervise themselves is normal. However, what some may not realize is that they are ultimately responsible for their children until they turn 18. (Texas Family Code, Section 41.001.) Many people are affected emotionally when something like this happens in our society. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted: “I am not ashamed to admit that I have shed tears of sadness, pain and anger.” His anguish and disappointment can be heard all the way to the White House. Donald Trump said: “This has been going on in our country for too long. Too many years. It's been too many decades now." (CNN.com) Furthermore, in my opinion, the failure of our elected officials to work together to pass meaningful legislation to address gun violence only exacerbates the problem in our society. In schools, we must educate, intervene, and prevent our campuses from being unsafe for our children. We cannot simplify the solution by suggesting that teachers bringing guns into the classroom is sufficient to address the threat. Some may not receive sufficient training, and the resulting consequence could put our children at greater risk of being accidentally hit by a teacher. The impact of gun violence has impacted our entire nation. Individuals who should not have access to firearms, but are able to do so, only increase the chances of someone becoming a victim of gun violence. In fact, “58% of American adults or someone they care about have experienced gun violence in their lifetime” (every citizen survey). So far, gun violence statistics appear to show “337 mass shootings, 2,869 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 killed or injured statewide” (Gun Violence Archive, (2018). Article 9 of the Constitution indicates that we each have the right to live and not be killed by another individual. We need better safety measures to prevent gun violence, especially in schools across our nation to create greater safety in schools. Signed several bills brought to his desk by the legislature.