JJ Watt Promises to Pay for Santa Fe High School Shooting Victims' Funeral Expenses
Houston Texans star J.J. Watt mourns the lives lost in the tragic mass shooting at Santa Fe High School and offers to pay for the funeral costs for the victims that were killed Friday morning.
The Texans defensive end initially tweeted his reaction to the news about the mass shooting caused by a 17-year-old that killed 10 people, mostly students, and left over a dozen others injured, saying that the incident is "Absolutely horrific."
But his actions did not end on social media alone. On Sunday, the Texans confirmed the reports through ESPN that the 29-year-old football pro intends to pay for the funeral expenses of all those who were killed.
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The team also released a statement regarding the heartbreaking incident, which reads: "On behalf of the Texans organization, we are saddened by the tragic events at Sante Fe High School this morning and extend our thoughts and heartfelt condolences to the victims, their families and all those affected. We are grateful for the brave first responders, law enforcement officials and medical personnel. The Texans family will continue to pray for our neighbors."
Netizens and several celebrities took to Twitter to thank Watt for his gesture, including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and NFL writer John McClain.
The latter also noted that the three-time AP NFL Defensive of the Year Award recipient was known for his charitable works in the past, including his fundraiser efforts during the Hurricane Harvey devastation that killed dozens and left a lot of people homeless in the Houston area. His crowdfunding initiative that aimed to gather $200,000 managed to reach as much as $37 million.
CNBC also reported that just this month, the football pro's J.J. Watt Charitable Foundation gave $10,000 to one of the middle schools in Baytown, Texas so that they can purchase athletic equipment for the school. He was also known for dressing up as Batman in 2015 to make kids at the Texas Children's Hospital happy during a Halloween party.
The Santa Fe High School shooting incident happened during the school's first-period class when suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis used a .38 revolver and a shotgun to kill the victims.
According to CNN, the gunfire began at around 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET) inside the school located 20 miles outside Galveston.
A 14-year-old witness named Angelica Martinez told the publication that they initially thought that they were just having a fire drill when they were being evacuated from the school facility.
"We were all standing (outside), but not even five minutes later, we started hearing gunshots," she stated. "And then everybody starts running, but, like, the teachers are telling us to stay put, but we're all just running away," Martinez added.
The report also mentioned that several explosive devices like pressure cookers with nails and pipe bombs were also seen in and around the area, but none of them were functional. An unlit Molotov cocktail was also discovered by the authorities.
Aside from Pagourtzis, another suspect who is also believed to be a student is already under custody according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The report also stated that injured victims were treated at three hospitals. Eight of which were brought to the Clear Lake Regional Medical in Webster, Texas, two were taken at the Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, while four were brought to the John Sealy University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
