By Liz Hampton and Erwin Seba
SANTA FE, Texas, May 18 (Reuters) - A 17-year-old student armed with a shotgun and pistol opened fire at his Texas high school on Friday, killing nine students and a teacher, authorities said, in an attack with eerie echoes of the massacre at a Florida high school in February.
Students said the gunman, identified by law enforcement as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, opened fire in an art class at Santa Fe High School shortly before 8 a.m. Students and staff fled after seeing classmates wounded and a fire alarm triggered a full evacuation.
The incident was the latest in a long series of deadly shootings at U.S. schools. Seventeen teens and educators were fatally shot in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, a massacre that stirred the nation's long-running debate over gun ownership.
Classmates described Pagourtzis as a quiet loner who played on the football team. On Friday, they said, he wore a trench coat to school in Santa Fe, located about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Houston, on a day when temperatures topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Pagourtzis obtained firearms from his father, who had legally acquired them, and also left behind explosives.
"Not only did he want to commit the shooting, but he wanted to commit suicide after the shooting," Abbott told reporters, citing a police review of the suspect's journals. "He didn't have the courage to commit suicide."
In addition to those killed, 10 people were wounded, Abbott said.
Pagourtzis was charged with capital murder and denied bail at a brief court hearing later on Friday, where he appeared in handcuffs and wearing a green prison jumpsuit. He spoke in a soft voice and said "Yes sir"
