Santa Fe’s mayor said he will not resign after making a controversial Facebook post about the deadly high school shooting. Jason Tabor said he takes full responsibility for the post but blames his actions on alcohol, PTSD, his childhood and not having his medication.
HOUSTON The family of a high school exchange student from Pakistan who was killed in a Texas school shooting have started a foundation to honor her memory through providing university scholarships to low-income Pakistani women. Sabika Sheikh, 17, was killed in a May 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School near Houston that left 10 people dead and at least 13 others wounded. Her parents, Abdul Aziz Sheikh and Farah Naz, have created the Sabika for Peace Foundation to expand educational opportunities for those most in need. The nonprofit organization will help provide scholarships to fund university studies for low-income Pakistani women, particularly those with civic engagement aspirations. The foundation will be run by a board of directors, which will comprise of representatives from the Sheikh family and four independent members selected by the family in consultation with the partners.
SANTA FE, Texas Architecture students at the University of Houston have designed a memorial commemorating the 10 victims of the Santa Fe shooting. The Santa Fe Memorial Foundation partnered with the students to create the memorial, which will be located at the high school. The Santa Fe Ten Memorial is intended to be built on the Santa Fe High School campus, a sacred ground that will serve as a connector between the school and the community. Fundraising efforts by the memorial foundation are now underway. Click here to learn more about the Santa Fe Memorial Foundation or to give a donation.
HOUSTON – Sen. Ted Cruz honored the Santa Fe High School shooting victims on the floor of the Senate this week and re-introduced two bills to make schools safer. Santa Fe High School is about 45 minutes from my house. I hosted Santa Fe students here in the Senate dining room. “It was a crucial first step in federal funding to help the Santa Fe High School community recover and protect all its students. “The last year has been an extremely difficult year for the Santa Fe families and for the community.
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – It's been nearly a decade since Santa Fe High School made it to the playoffs and it has been a bittersweet year for the players and their classmates. Both were football players who died during the school shooting in May. The team has had the support of the entire Santa Fe community, which continues to rally behind it every game. It's like high school football used to be back in the '70s and '80s," Santa Fe High School football coach Mark Kanipes said. "Every game more and more people are showing up and being proud that we are their football team, so that's nice," Santa Fe linebacker Colton Scott said.
SANTA FE, Texas – Families of victims killed in the Santa Fe high school shooting rang a bell for each name, honoring their memory. It was a somber start to an emotionally charged school board meeting. Santa Fe parents and victims' families were angry with the board, asking many of them to step down. Rose Stone who lost her son Chris in the shooting, brought her son's ashes to the meeting. “Stop victimizing our children by being lazy and (take) the high road to protect them like they are your own -- because they are,” said one Santa Fe mother.
SANTA FE, Texas – Santa Fe Independent School District leaders held a districtwide parent information session Thursday at the high school's auditorium. School leaders said the purpose for the event was to talk about school safety. The nearly hour-and-a-half long meeting proved to be plenty of time for questions to be asked by concerned parents and answered by district leaders. In fact, prior to the event, parents were encouraged to submit questions ahead of time so that district leaders could answer them at the session. The new school year starts Monday, as students return to classes across the district including Santa Fe High School, the site of the deadly school shooting in May that claimed the lives of 10 people including students and staff.
CLEAR LAKE, Texas – Pop star Justin Timberlake took time to visit some of the Santa Fe High School students who are recovering from last week's shooting. WATCH: Justin Timberlake visits Santa Fe shooting victims at hospitalA video from a Channel 2 viewer shows Timberlake leaving Clear Lake Regional Medical Center. Student Sarah Salazar, who was injured in the shooting, was smiling ear-to-ear in a photo with Timberlake. Salazar was severely injured after being shot in the several times from her neck down to her thigh, according to Salazar's aunt Norma Irlas said. The recovering students have also been visited by Texans superstar J.J. Watt.
SANTA FE, Texas – For students like Daniela Betancourt, art is much more than just a class. "I like to call it my first home away from home," she said about art class. When the Santa Fe High School gunman targeted the art class, Betancourt and her art teacher, Megan Carpenter, felt powerless. "It feels really enriching and it feels like we're united," Betancourt said. The proceeds from the art show in June will go to the victims and families of the Texas school shooting.
HOUSTON – Seniors at Santa Fe High School have been offered free tickets to Thursday night's Game 5 Western Conference Finals by Houston Rockets owner and Galveston County native Tilman Fertitta. WATCH: Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta on offering Game 5 tickets to Santa Fe HS seniors"I have roots in Galveston County. I played on that football field before in Santa Fe," Fertitta said. "We just wanted to step up and I talked to Tad (Brown) and said, 'Hey, we need to find 300 tickets for the Santa Fe High School seniors on Thursday.'" Tribute on court and team will wear a Santa Fe HS ribbon #SantaFeStrong @KPRC2 — Randy McIlvoy (@KPRC2RandyMc) May 22, 2018The team also said that it's 50/50 Raffle & First Shot for Charity will benefit the Santa Fe Strong Memorial Fund.
HOUSTON – The debate over gun control has ramped up once again in Texas following the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School. He said Democrats see the Santa Fe tragedy as a call for gun control. Florida lawmakers defied the NRA and passed a gun control package after lobbying by student survivors of the attack. In the Santa Fe High School shooting, restrictions on bump stocks, assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and more strident background checks would not have affected suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis' ability to obtain weapons. And there has been no groundswell of support for gun law reform from students, with some Santa Fe students openly rejecting gun control as a method of preventing further incidents.
Signs of depression include crying, sleep issues (lack of sleep or excessive sleep) and a decreased appetite. AcceptanceIn this final stage of grief, your loved one will begin to accept the reality of their loss. Rheeda Walker, associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Houston said not to rush grief. "In the short-term, grief can feel like insurmountable sadness, emptiness and loss. “Nightmares, not sleeping, not eating, having a hard time concentrating,” she listed as signs of PTSD.
SANTA FE, Texas – Cynthia Tisdale, a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School was killed Friday in the shooting at the school, according to her family. Leia Olinde said Tisdale, her aunt was like a mother to her and helped her shop for wedding dresses last year. "I've never met a woman who loved her family so much." Tisdale's house was the center of family gatherings and she loved cooking Thanksgiving dinner and decorating her house, Olinde said. Olinde's fiance, Eric Sanders, said of Tisdale that "words don't explain her lust for life and the joy she got from helping people."
