A substitute teacher who had a "lust for life," a Pakistani exchange student who aspired to work in civil service, and an outgoing and "really funny" student who blocked the door to try to prevent the gunman from entering the classroom are among the victims of Friday's mass shooting at a Texas high school.
Seventeen-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis is being held on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault after authorities say he fatally shot 10 people and wounded at least 10 others at his high school in Santa Fe, about 30 miles southeast of Houston.
Authorities released the names of those who died: Jared Black, Shana Fisher, Christian Riley Garcia, Aaron Kyle McLeod, Glenda Perkins, Angelique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Jake Stone, Cynthia Tisdale and Kimberly Vaughan.
Family members and friends of the eight students and two teachers fondly remembered their loved ones. They used such words as sweet, hardworking and loving.
Here are some of their stories:
JARED BLACK
Black turned 17 on Wednesday and was looking forward to a party this weekend at his family's just-purchased, above-ground swimming pool.
U.S. & World
An older brother, Anthony, from Odessa, Texas, was planning to visit with his wife and kids. Jared also had a younger brother, Houston, 13.
The Houston Chronicle reports his family now is planning for his funeral.
His stepfather, Travis Stanich, tells the newspaper Black took daily medication for attention deficit disorder and was quiet and kind and loved art, video games and sci-fi, wrestling and wolves.
Stanich called him "a great kid" who was creative, drew cartoons and loved people.
[NATL] 10 People Dead in Santa Fe High School Shooting
SHANA FISHER
The mother of 16-year-old Shana Fisher believes that her daughter was intentionally targeted by Pagourtzi.
Sadie Rodriguez said Pagourtzi repeatedly made advances toward Fisher in the four months leading up to the shooting. Pagourtzi was an ex-boyfriend of Fisher's best friend, she said.
"He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no," Rodriguez told The Associated Press over Facebook Messenger. "He continued to get more aggressive."
Rodriguez said that the week before the shooting, Fisher "stood up to him" by "embarrass(ing) him in class." Rodriguez gave no other details.
Rodriguez described her daughter as "shy and sweet" with a passion for video games. Rodriguez shared a video of Fisher from 2015, in which the teen contemplates whether or not she'll continue making gaming videos because her computer keeps crashing.
The day of the shooting, Rodriguez wrote in a Facebook status to "love like (you're) getting one more day with them."
"Anything can happen," she wrote. "I will no longer get to see my baby, my 1st born anymore."
Tammy Fisher Whalen, Shana's aunt, also posted on Facebook about her niece's death. "She was so sweet and kind. ... I love you," she wrote. "It's hard to believe... How do you make tears stop ..they won't listen ..it's as if they're in a hurry to go somewhere ..they run down my face and soon more follow ..."
CHRISTIAN RILEY GARCIA
Garcia described himself as a history junky who wanted to join the Army.
Student Jai Gillard, a 14-year-old freshman, tells The Associated Press that Garcia always sat next to her in art class, and had asked her on a date recently.
She says he was "always happy" and "very sweet."
Gillard says that after they heard gunshots and smelled gunpowder on Friday, she and Garcia and other students piled into a closet. She says that Garcia used his body as a "barricade" against the closet door to keep the shooter from entering.
Ashley Fonseca says her 15-year-old cousin always came to family get-togethers at a lake in Crosby, Texas, and was loved by everyone.
The church in Crosby where Garcia and his parents and younger sister are members was planning a Monday evening vigil to honor what the church describes as Garcia's "heroic act."
AARON KYLE MCLEOD
McLeod, a freshman who went by Kyle, could always be counted on to make light of any situation, said close friend Kali Reeves, who added she wouldn't have been surprised if the 15-year-old "made a joke about getting shot" if he were still alive.
Reeves, 15, said she knew McLeod for years and became close friends with him in the eighth grade. She said he always had a smile on his face and loved to hang out with his friends.
"He was never one to be a sad or down person, he always had to joke or laugh about things," she said. "He was just outgoing and super sweet. He definitely didn't deserve this."
Reeves heard that her friend had been shot as she was evacuating Santa Fe High School. She joked to her boyfriend that if she FaceTimed McLeod, he would have "made a joke about him getting shot," adding that "he just always looked on the bright side of things."
Reeves said she texted McLeod throughout the day to check up on him. She sent him one final text, saying she hopes he "gets better." Shortly after, she checked Facebook and learned he was one of the 10 killed.
GLENDA PERKINS
Perkins for years had been a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School, where her grandchildren are students.
Student Jay Mann, a junior, tells the Houston Chronicle she always had a smile on her face, took the time to learn students' names and became part of the fabric of the school.
Mann says she had a great attitude and "never got mad at anybody for doing something stupid."
An all-female Galveston Mardi Gras krewe, Tutu Live Krewe, has posted on Facebook that Perkins, along with her daughter, was a member of their marching group.
ANGELIQUE RAMIREZ
The senior pastor at Dayspring Church says Ramirez was a member of the Santa Fe church's youth ministry.
Pastor Brad Drake says she had occasionally accompanied a younger brother to the ministry at the church where her parents are among the some 150 people to attend Sunday services.
Drake on Sunday described the 15-year-old as "a sweet young lady, had a style all of her own." He says she "almost always had a new hairstyle."
An aunt, Sylvia Pritchett, said in a Facebook post she has "a broken heart and a soul that just can't process all this right now."
Angelique's sister, Araceli Ramirez, called the Santa Fe student her "best friend" who she'll "never forget."
"The first baby i ever held in my arms.. my baby sister, the person who looked up to me for the longest time, she was so outgoing, so precious, kind, beautiful,..." Araceli Ramirez wrote on Facebok.
SABIKA SHEIKH
Abdul Aziz Sheikh was expecting his daughter Sabika to return home to Pakistan in a few weeks for Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Instead, he learned that his oldest child was among those killed in the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, where Sabika arrived as an exchange student last August.
Surrounded by mourning friends and family at his home in Karachi on Saturday, Abdul Aziz Sheikh fought back tears as he relived his frantic efforts to check whether his daughter was safe half a world away. She wasn't returning his calls and neither were her friends. He eventually learned from the exchange program that she was among the dead.
"We are still in a state of denial. We can't believe it. It's like a nightmare," Sheikh told The Associated Press.
He said his daughter was a hard-working and accomplished student who aspired to work in civil service, hoping one day to join Pakistan's Foreign Office.
"One should not lose his heart by such kind of incidents," he said. "One should not stop going for education to the U.S. or U.K., or China, or anywhere. One must go for education undeterred. But controlling such incidents is the responsibility of the respective governments."
Megan Lysaght, manager of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study Abroad program (YES), within the U.S. State Department, sent a letter to students in the program confirming that Sabika was killed in the shooting.
"Please know that the YES program is devastated by this loss and we will remember Sabika and her families in our thoughts and prayers," Lysaght wrote.
She said the program would be holding a moment of silence for the girl, who is pictured beaming in a shirt that says "Texas" in a photo being shared on social media.
Lysaght declined further comment when contacted by The Associated Press and referred calls to a State Department spokesman.
The Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C., identified Sabika as a victim of the shooting on Twitter and wrote that "our thoughts and prayers are with Sabika's family and friends."
The Pakistan Association of Greater Houston said in a statement on Facebook, "May Allah bless her soul and may she RIP."
Her funeral took place Sunday.
CHRIS STONE
The death of 17-year-old Chris Stone was confirmed to NBC by his mother.
Stone was among a group of students who blocked the door to try to prevent the gunman from entering their art classroom, freshman Abel San Miguel, who was in the class, told The Associated Press. The shooter fired his shotgun through the door, though, striking Stone in the chest, he said.
Stone was outgoing, "really funny" and had a lot of friends, said Branden Auzston, a 17-year-old junior at Santa Fe High. He said he knew Stone for about three years, and Stone was one of his best friends.
Auzston's mother, Nicole Auzston, described Stone as a part of her family.
"We would have done anything for him," she said. "He's just a great kid."
Robert Stone told the AP by phone Saturday that his family was grieving his nephew's death and requested privacy.
CYNTHIA TISDALE
Family confirmed that substitute teacher Cynthia Tisdale was among the victims killed in the shooting.
Cynthia Tisdale's sister-in-law, Pamela Tisdale, told NBC that Cynthia had gone back to work about a year and a half ago after her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Cynthia was a mother of three and had eight grandchildren.
Tisdale's niece, Leia Olinde, told AP Tisdale was married to her husband for close to 40 years.
Olinde added that Tisdale was like a mother to her and helped her shop for wedding dresses last year.
"She helped me put it on, she helped fix my hair," Olinde said through tears.
"She was wonderful. She was just so loving," said Olinde, 25. "I've never met a woman who loved her family so much.
Tisdale's house was the center for 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."
KIMBERLY JESSICA VAUGHAN
Vaughan was a Girl Scout with a penchant for red hair dye.
After the shooting Friday, Vaughan's mother, Rhonda Hart, urged people on Facebook to contact their elected representatives.
A former U.S. Army watercraft operator, Hart called for gun control, saying "we need to protect our kids." She also invited other service members to "speak up" for her daughter.
Hart declined AP's request for an interview. But she said Monday on Facebook that one way to honor Vaughan would be to apply some red hair dye. Hart said Vaughan "loved those colors in her hair."
Vaughan's grandfather, Ralph Vaughan, tells the AP he's upset that the accused gunman will not face capital punishment. He says that he's "upset at the prospect of him remaining alive."
