Ten dead in mass shooting at Texas school, student arrested

Texas officials charged a 17-year-old student with murder in the shooting of 10 people, including fellow pupils, at his high school on Friday in an attack similar to the massacre at a Florida high school earlier this year.

People react outside the unification center at the Alamo Gym, following a shooting at Santa Fe High School Friday, May 18, 2018 Source: AAP

Ten people were killed and at least 10 injured when a student armed with a shotgun and a revolver opened fire at his Texas high school on Friday, officials said, in the latest deadly school shooting in the United States.

The gunman, who was taken into custody on murder charges, was identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old junior at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas.

A handout photo made available by the Galveston County Sheriff Office shows a booking photo of Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, in Galveston Source: AAP

Governor Greg Abbott said 10 people were killed and 10 wounded in what he called "one of the most heinous attacks that we've ever seen in the history of Texas schools."

"Nothing can prepare a parent for the loss of a child," Abbott told reporters in Santa Fe, located some 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Houston.

Abbott said the gunman apparently carried out the attack with a shotgun and a .38 revolver belonging to his father, and that the weapons were legally owned.

The Houston Chronicle said Pagourtzis was armed with pipe bombs in addition to firearms when he burst into a classroom at the start of the school day.

Two women pray outside the family reunification site following a shooting at Santa Fe High School on Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. Source: AAP

The governor said searches were being conducted at two residences and "various explosive devices" were found including a "CO2 device" and a Molotov cocktail.

He said journal entries by the gunman suggested he wanted to commit suicide but "he gave himself up."

Abbott also said there were no "warning signs" about the suspect ahead of time although he did post a picture on his Facebook page of a T-shirt with the words "Born to Kill" on it.

Law enforcement authorities were questioning two people including one who "may have had some level of involvement in the crime," Abbott added.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the "majority" of the dead were students.

Area hospitals said two victims were in critical condition. One of the wounded was a police officer.