In a highly anticipated verdict, a Galveston, Texas, jury has cleared the parents of the teenager who carried out the devastating Santa Fe high school shooting in 2018 of any liability for the tragic incident. The civil trial, which concluded on Monday, saw family members of the shooting victims and survivors accusing Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos of neglecting to prevent their son, Dimitrios, from accessing weapons from their home. However, the jury's decision shifted responsibility to Dimitrios Pagourtzis himself and the company that sold him the ammunition used in the shooting.

The jury did hold Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, and Lucky Gunner, the ammunition retailer, liable for the deaths and injuries caused. They awarded a staggering $330 million in damages. Lucky Gunner had previously reached a settlement with families that spared them from making further payments.

Jake Felde, CEO of Lucky Gunner, emphasized in a written statement that his company is not obligated to pay the damages awarded by the jury since they had already settled with the affected families. Instead, the responsibility falls solely on Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who has been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial, and has been placed in a treatment facility until he is declared competent by a judge.

The lawsuit was filed soon after the tragic events of the Santa Fe high school rampage on May 18, 2018, which resulted in the deaths of 10 classmates and the injury of 13 others. Among the victims was a 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student. The jury's decision comes four months after another high-profile case in Michigan, where parents were charged with manslaughter for their son's actions in a school shooting.

Lori Laird, the attorney representing Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, asserted that holding her clients accountable for their son's actions was not justified. She emphasized that the parents were unaware of their son's mental illness and saw no warning signs. Laird also mentioned that the parents' firearms were securely stored in a gun safe and locked cabinet.

Gun safety advocates and experts assert that holding parents accountable for shootings carried out by their children is a critical step in reducing school violence. Studies conducted by the US Department of Homeland Security have shown that approximately 75% of school shooters obtain their weapons from their homes.

While disappointed with the jury's decision, James Miller, senior counsel of Everytown Law and representative of the plaintiffs Abdul Aziz and Farah Naz, stressed the importance of secure storage to combat the nation's gun violence epidemic. Miller stated, "Guns are the No.1 killer of American children and teens, and secure storage is absolutely essential in the fight to end this nation's gun violence epidemic."

Ultimately, this verdict is a somber reminder of the complexities surrounding school shootings. Despite assigning responsibility to the shooter and the ammunition retailer, the tragedy serves as a call to action for society to prioritize the protection of children and implement measures to prevent such horrific incidents in the future.