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Santa Fe suspect's father: 'I have the same exact pain.' My son 'is a victim'

"Somebody probably came and hurt him, and since he was a solid boy I don't know what could have happened, I can't say what happened."

SANTA FE, Texas – The father of the alleged Santa Fe shooter says something must have happened to his son, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, prior to Friday’s mass shooting.

According to an interview with Antenna TV provided by the Associated Press, Antonios Pagourtzis says he feels pain for those affected.

Photos: The victims of Santa Fe High School shooting

"I'm having a funeral, I'm having a funeral. I don't have joy now. I feel the pain of the others, but I have the same pain. I have the same exact pain. I'm sorry,” he said in Greek. “My kid, he wasn't the kind that gets into fights and things like that. He was a solid (good) boy, he visited Greece, he didn't drink, the only thing he did was work out and stuff like that.”

The father said something must have happened to his son prior to Friday's mass shooting.

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“Last night, the kid cooked and we sat and ate together, and then we played... And then in the morning he got up and I asked him, are you leaving so early today? And he said 'I love you, Dad. I'm off, I love you and I'll see you in the afternoon.' Something must have happened now, this last week. Somebody probably came and hurt him, and since he was a strong boy I don't know what could have happened, I can't say what happened.”

He added that he hoped his son would not be executed.

Photos: Memorial grows at Santa Fe High School

“All I can say is what I suspect as a father, because I've lost my boy. I've lost my boy and the only thing I can try for is that they don't execute the kid,” he said. “My son, to me, is not a criminal, he's a victim.”

Antonios Pagourtzis explained that the guns found on his sound were his and that he legally owned them.

“The kid didn't own guns, I owned guns. They were legal, he took them out of the closet. I told the police, let me in so that he kills me, so nobody else gets hurt, let him kill me I don't mind,” he said. “They call me (from Greece) and they're saying 'the blood-stained weapons of the father', and 'the criminal'. I don't accept that, I don't accept what is happening (being said) in Greece. In Greece my homeland, the homeland that he loved so much."

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