CLOSE A judge has denied bond for the 17-year-old accused of killing 10 people and wounding 10 others at a Texas high school. Dimitrios Pagourtzis made his initial court appearance Friday evening via closed circuit video from the Galveston County Jail. (May 18) AP 
 
 Abdul Aziz Sheikh, father of Sabika Sheikh, an exchange student from Pakistan who was killed in a shooting at Santa Fe HIgh School in Santa Fe, Texas, comforts relatives during her funeral in Karachi, Pakistan, May 23, 2018. (Photo: REHAN KHAN, EPA-EFE) 
 
 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. 
 
 CLOSE Five months after the shooting that claimed 10 lives, several families are ready to share their stories. They reveal a community divided over how to move past the tragedy and heal. USA TODAY 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/11/28/santa-fe-school-shooting-6-families-sue-parents-suspected-shooter/2144130002/ 

 The attorney for the teenage boy who allegedly opened fire at Santa Fe High School in Texas is looking into reports that the suspected gunman was bullied, he told ABC News. 
 
 Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, was taken into custody after he allegedly burst into two art classrooms on Friday morning, killing 10 people and wounding 13 others. 
 
 Pagourtzis' attorney, Nick Poehl, told ABC News today that he hasn't yet discussed bullying with his client, but Poehl said other students have indicated Pagourtzis was bullied by students and adults at Santa Fe High School. 
 
 "It's something that we’re looking into," Poehl said. 
 
 "This weekend Santa Fe ISD released a statement saying they had investigated the claims of bullying and found them to be not true," Poehl said. "That was released less than 24 hours after the incident occurred. It’s not clear what the nature of that investigation was except that it is clear that they didn’t reach out to any of the kids that were on TV claiming that it occurred, so we have some questions about that investigation.” 
 
 Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle via AP 
 
 Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP 
 
 Pagourtzis, who has been charged with capital murder, was allegedly armed with a shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver, both of which appear to be legally owned by his father. 
 
 "It does appear that the guns were kept in a locked gun cabinet or gun safe," Poehl said, adding, "How he got access to them, we don’t know." 
 
 For Pagourtzis' parents, the massacre "is very, very difficult to comprehend at this point," Poehl said. 
 
 Kevin M. Cox /The Galveston County Daily News via AP 
 
 "They’re as in-the-dark and kinda learning about it through the media the same way we are," he said. "They love their son, they do not understand how this happened or how it could have happened, and they’re waiting for answers, too." 
 
 Poehl, who described Pagourtzis as "confused and scared," said the motive may be unclear for his client, as well. 
 
 "At this point, I’m not even prepared to say he knows why this happened," Poehl said. 

 Parents of Pakistani exchange student killed in Santa Fe mass shooting sue shooter's parents 
 
 Abdul Aziz Sheikh, center, father of Sabika Sheikh, a victim of a shooting at a Texas high school, shows a picture of his daughter in Karachi, Pakistan, Saturday, May 19, 2018. The Pakistani foreign exchange student is among those killed in the shooting, according to a leader at a program for foreign exchange students and the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C. Megan Lysaght, manager of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study Abroad program (YES), sent a letter to students in the program confirming that Sabika Sheikh was killed in the shooting. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) less Abdul Aziz Sheikh, center, father of Sabika Sheikh, a victim of a shooting at a Texas high school, shows a picture of his daughter in Karachi, Pakistan, Saturday, May 19, 2018. The Pakistani foreign exchange ... more Photo: Fareed Khan, Associated Press Photo: Fareed Khan, Associated Press Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Parents of Pakistani exchange student killed in Santa Fe mass shooting sue shooter's parents 1 / 7 Back to Gallery 
 
 The parents of a foreign exchange student killed in the May mass shooting at Santa Fe High School have filed legal claims against the suspected shooter's parents, alleging they neglected to take basic steps to keep the shooter from accessing their firearms. 
 
 Abdul Aziz and Farah Naz, the parents of Sabika Sheikh, who was 17, joined a lawsuit filed in a Galveston County court. The suit was brought by family members of some of the people killed at Santa Fe High School and alleges that the parents of suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 18, were negligent and irresponsibly stored their firearms. 
 
 "Sabika's picture is in front of our eyes every single moment, and her voice and laughter echo in our ears," Aziz and Naz said in a statement. 
 
 "For a mother and a father, this trauma and mourning stay until their last breath," they said. "We are grateful to everyone in the U.S. and around the world who met us in person and reached us through emails, print, electronic and social media to express solidarity and empower us to endure this most profound tragedy." 
 
 Sheikh was one of eight students and two substitute teachers killed in the school shooting. Police have said Pagourtzis entered the school armed with a shotgun and revolver, weapons owned by his parents. Authorities said Pagourtzis also had explosive devices that failed to detonate. 
 
 Sheikh's parents filed their legal claims days before what would have been their daughter's 18th birthday. 
 
 Before her death, Sheikh was less than three weeks away from returning home to Pakistan after spending a year as an exchange student in the United States. She was a youth ambassador with the U.S. State Department sponsored Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program, which is administered by the American Councils for International Education, the American Institute for Foreign Study Foundation and I*Earn. 
 
 The lawsuit alleges that Pagourtzis' parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos of Galveston, failed to respond to and address warning signs that their son posed a risk to others. 
 
 Ron Rodgers, a League City-based attorney defending Pagourtzis' parents in the lawsuit, said in a statement that he is confident his clients were not negligent and "could not have predicted what occurred." 
 
 "My clients are truly heartbroken over the horrific loss of Ms. Sheikh and all of the victims of the May 18th tragedy, and our hearts go out to their families and the community," Rodgers said. "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. The legal theories they are putting forward are premised on facts that just aren't there." 
 
 Sheikh's parents, who live in Karachi, Pakistan, are represented by Everytown for Gun Safety's litigation team and by attorney Clint E. McGuire of Martinez and McGuire PLLC in Houston. McGuire did not respond to a request for comment. 
 
 Shaheerah Albasit, Sheikh's cousin and a graduate student living in Washington, D.C., said the fact that Sheikh's parents live abroad made it logistically difficult for them to join the lawsuit right away. Albasit hoped the lawsuit would contribute to the nationwide dialogue around ending gun violence. 
 
 "Our motivation behind (the lawsuit) is that this will contribute to increasing a sense of accountability, not just to gun owners when it comes to safe storage and responsible storage of their weapons, but also in people around them that display signs of harming themselves and harming others and to be more cognizant about them, and to take measures to ensure that they do not end up doing what (Pagourtzis) did," Albasit said. 
 
 Pagourtzis remains in custody in Galveston County without bail, charged with capital murder and a first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault on a peace officer in the wounding of Santa Fe Independent School District Officer John Barnes. Pagourtzis is eligible for a life sentence if convicted, and could be eligible for parole in 40 years. A federal investigation into the Santa Fe shooting is ongoing. 
 
 Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com
– Sabika Sheikh's parents saw it as an opportunity. Sending their daughter to the US as an exchange student from Pakistan could give her a leg up in a later career in business or diplomacy, Abdul Aziz and Farah Naz thought. Three weeks before she was to complete her school year and return home to Karachi, their 17-year-old daughter was instead one of 10 people killed when student Dimitrios Pagourtzis allegedly opened fire inside Texas' Santa Fe High School on May 18. "No other parent should ever have to experience this unbearable grief," say Sheikh's parents, who've now joined six other families in a lawsuit accusing Pagourtzis' parents of failing to secure the weapons used in the massacre and prevent their son's "violent and hateful impulses," per USA Today. Authorities say Pagourtzis, who admitted to the shooting, used his father's legally owned shotgun and revolver. The lawsuit appears to be partially based on a report from a Greek TV station, which quoted Antonio Pagourtzis as saying the weapons were taken from a closet. A lawyer for the elder Pagourtzis and wife Rose Marie Kosmetatos blames translation issues, however. The guns were, in fact, "kept in a locked gun cabinet or gun safe," he says, per ABC News, adding his clients "could not have predicted what occurred," per the Houston Chronicle. True or not, Aziz and Naz have another motive with their suit, seeking more than $1 million in damages. They hope to showcase America's "anomalous problem with gun violence," of which they previously "had no knowledge," their lawyer says. (Strangers helped a victim's ill husband.)