Trial site chosen for suspect in 2018 Texas school shootings

FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2019 file pool photo, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a Santa Fe High School student accused of killing 10 people in a May 18, 2018 shooting at the high school, is escorted by Galveston County Sheriff’s Office deputies into the jury assembly room for a change of venue hearing at the Galveston County Courthouse in Galveston, Texas. Pagourtzis faces trial 45 miles (72.42 kilometers) from where the attack happened. A judge in Galveston County has moved the capital murder trial of Pagourtzis, who attended Santa Fe High School, to Richmond, in Fort Bend County. Pagourtzis also is charged with aggravated assault — 13 people were wounded. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP, Pool, File)

by: The Associated Press

Posted: Jun 25, 2019 / 03:36 PM CDT

Updated: Jun 25, 2019 / 03:40 PM CDT

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A teenager accused in the fatal shooting of 10 people at his Houston-area school faces trial 45 miles (72.42 kilometers) from where the attack happened.

A judge in Galveston County has moved the capital murder trial of 18-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who attended Santa Fe High School, to Richmond, in Fort Bend County. Pagourtzis also is charged with aggravated assault.

Thirteen people were wounded in the May 2018 attack.

Judge John Ellisor in February approved a defense request for a venue change amid intense publicity. Ellisor on Friday set jury selection for January as Pagourtzis faces state charges as an adult, but isn’t eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 during the attack.

The defense says Pagourtzis also faces 11 federal counts in a case sealed because he was a minor during the shootings.