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 / 8 Caption Close Parents of Pakistani exchange student killed in Santa Fe mass shooting sue shooter's parents 1 / 8 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