Santa Fe school shooting: Pakistan exchange student among victims

An exchange student from Pakistan is among the first named victims of a Texas high school shooting.

Ten people were killed and 10 were injured at Santa Fe High School when a student opened fire. The suspect is
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17.

The embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC confirmed that student Sabika Sheikh was among the dead.

Substitute teacher Cynthia Tisdale was also killed in the attack, her family told US media outlets.

Mrs Tisdale's niece and brother-in-law both confirmed the news. Writing on Facebook, John Tisdale said his
sister-in-law was an "amazing person".

Sabika Sheikh, aged 17, had been on the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study Abroad programme (YES). The
programme is run by the US state department, and was set up in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001
attacks to bring students from Muslim-majority nations to the US on a cultural exchange.

Her parents, Abdul Aziz and Farah Sheikh, told the BBC they heard about the shooting through television news.

They said they confirmed their daughter's death within an hour by speaking to school administrators. Ms
Sheikh's body would be returned to her home in Karachi early next week, they said.

Other victims, believed to be mostly students, are expected to be identified by Texas authorities later on
Saturday.

The attacker, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was arrested and charged with murder. He allegedly used a shotgun and a
revolver taken from his father, who legally owned the weapons.

Sedat Kaan Koyuncu 10-C / 734