Mother of student killed at Santa Fe High School says suspect pursued her daughter

SANTA FE, Texas -- Sixteen-year-old Shayna Fisher was among the ten people killed Friday morning at Santa Fe High School.

"She was the first one to die," said her mother Sadie Rodriguez. "How could he do something like that?"

Rodriguez said the suspected shooter Dimitri Pagourtzis had pursued her daughter for several months, but Shayna rejected his advances.

"He had dated her friend before and then turned to her. She wanted nothing to do with him," she said.

According to Rodriguez, the unwanted attention continued.

On Friday, the 17-year-old student is alleged to have retrieved a shotgun and pistol he had hidden in a closet. He allegedly walked into the art classroom where Fisher and her classmates were and opened fire.

"He shot her at point-blank range," Rodriguez said. "How do you do that when someone says they don't want to be with you? He had to be have been mentally unstable. No one was paying attention to him; he's going to school was wearing upside down crosses and trench coats?"

Pagourtzis' family released a statement Saturday, writing that the person described is not the quiet, sweet boy they knew. He is being held without bail in the Galveston County jail. He's expected to go before a judge next week.

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