NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine expressed anguish in response to the news of a school shooting in Texas today (May 18), a tragedy that occurred near the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The shooting occurred at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, which is located 15 miles from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. At least 10 people were killed in the shooting, according to the Houston Chronicle. A suspect, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is in police custody, and a second person was detained as a person of interest, according to The New York Times.
"I'm devastated to hear of the tragic shooting in Texas near our [NASA Johnson] facility," Bridenstine wrote in a Twitter statement. "My family and I are praying for the students, teachers and the entire Santa Fe community."
NASA's Johnson Space Center is home to the space agency's astronaut corps. It is where astronauts train and prepare for human spaceflight missions. The center is also home to NASA's Mission Control Center for the International Space Station.
"My thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragic shooting in Santa Fe, TX," NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa, Johnson's current director, said in a Twitter statement. "Our [NASA Johnson] family will come together to support those affected in whatever we can."
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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