'Unbearable grief': Pakistani parents of Santa Fe school shooting victim warn of gun culture in US

When Sabika Aziz Sheikh’s parents sent her to the United States as an exchange student from their native Pakistan in August 2017, they saw the opportunity as a step forward in her pursuit of a career in business.

They never envisioned those dreams ending at the hands of a gunman in her school, and now they want other parents to avoid the immeasurable sorrow they continue to experience.

Sheikh was one of 10 people – eight students and two teachers – killed in the May 18 shooting at Santa Fe High School outside Houston. On Wednesday, her parents – Abdul Aziz and Farah Naz – joined six other families in a lawsuit against the parents of suspected shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis.

Sheikh, 17, was less than three weeks away from completing her exchange program and returning home to Karachi when she became one of the victims in the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting this year.

“No other parent should ever have to experience this unbearable grief,” Sheikh’s parents said in a statement. “Sabika’s picture is in front of our eyes every single moment, and her voice and laughter echo in our ears. For a mother and a father, this trauma and mourning stay until their last breath.’’

The lawsuit alleges that Antonio Pagourtzis and his wife, Rose Marie Kosmetatos, were negligent in storing the weapons their son used to carry out the massacre and ignored signs that he might harm himself or others.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who was then 17 and a junior at the school, has been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault on a peace officer. He admitted to the shooting spree after being arrested.

In addition to pursuing more than $1 million in damages, Aziz and Naz see the lawsuit as a way to shed light on the gun culture in the United States, their lawyer said.

“They had no knowledge of that before Sabika was killed,’’ Molly Thomas-Jensen said. “It’s part of a broader conversation that the U.S. has an anomalous problem with gun violence.’’

Thomas-Jensen works as counsel for Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control advocacy group that is providing part of the legal representation for the Aziz-Naz family while highlighting the issue of safe storage of firearms.

More:Dad says Santa Fe shooting suspect was bullied; school rejects claim

More:School shootings and mental health: Inside the minds of mass shooters

The organization has helped defend gun-storage ordinances against legal challenges by the NRA in two cities in Washington State, including Seattle.

Authorities have said Dimitrios Pagourtzis used his father’s legally-owned shotgun and revolver in his shooting rampage, and also brought explosive devices that did not detonate to the school.

It is not clear how the weapons were stored – Antonios Pagourtzis reportedly told Greek station Antenna TV that his son took them from his closet – but neither the elder Pagourtzis nor his wife has been charged.

Texas law says guns can’t be made accessible to children under 17, with certain exceptions. However, Dimitrios Pagourtzis was already 17 at the time of the attack.

Defense lawyer Ron Rodgers, who represents the elder Pagourtzis and Kosmetatos, told USA TODAY via email that his clients are heartbroken over the tragedy.

“While it is perhaps natural for those looking for someone to blame for the acts of a child to point the finger at the parents, the fact is that many of the allegations concerning my clients are either inaccurate or wholly untrue,’’ Rodgers wrote. 

“The allegation that my clients were negligent in storing their weapons is not supported by the evidence. The claim that the guns were taken from the closet is entirely false. They were kept in a locked gun cabinet. At this point, I can only surmise that this allegation was based on inaccurate translation. There are other statements attributed to Mr. Pagourtzis in his interview with Greek media that were translated incorrectly.’’

The lawsuit charges the parents not only failed to secure the weapons, but also neglected to take action even though their son “harbored violent and hateful impulses.’’

The list of examples cited in the complaint include a fascination with the Columbine school killings of 1999 and a habit of dressing like the shooters, the keen interest in firearms Dimitrios Pagourtzis demonstrated on social media and his uploading to his Facebook page of a photo with a T-shirt bearing the words, “BORN TO KILL.’’

Eric Tirschwell, litigation director for Everytown for Gun Safety, said the signs were strong enough for Pagourtzis’ parents to at least make sure he could not access the weapons.

“If you make the decision to have firearms in your home, you have a responsibility to make sure they are secure, and in particularly in a situation where you have a household member, a child or otherwise, who is exhibiting behavior that would cause any reasonable person to be alarmed," Tirschwell said.