Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Funeral set for Pakistani girl killed in Texas

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the funeral Sunday in Texas of Sabika Sheikh, the young Pakistani exchange student killed in a mass shooting Friday at a high school.

The somber ceremony is to take place at an Islamic center in the Texas town of Stafford, not far from Santa Fe High School, where the shooting took place, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston said in a statement.


The funeral is scheduled for 2 pm (1900 GMT).

Ten people -- eight students and two teachers -- were killed Friday when a shooter identified by police as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis opened fire with a shotgun and a handgun before surrendering to police.

"We are still in a state of denial. It is like a nightmare," said Sheikh's father, Abdul Aziz, at the family home in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

The young woman, described by her family as an excellent student, had dreamed of working for Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

She had been due to return to Karachi in coming weeks in time for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The Islamic Society, in its statement, called the shooting "an act of terror" and said such events "remind us as to what world we live in, where sanctity of life is not valued."

It said it had offered to help with the funeral and the transportation of Sheikh's body back to Pakistan.

Some 60,000 people in Houston, 35 miles (55 kilometers) from Santa Fe, are of Pakistani descent.

More For You

Rage bait

Rage bait isn’t just clickbait — it’s Oxford University Press’ word of the year for 2025

iStock/Gemini AI

‘Rage bait’ is Oxford University Press’s word of the year for 2025

Highlights:

  • Rage bait captures online content designed to provoke anger
  • Oxford University Press saw a threefold rise in its use over 2025
  • Beat contenders aura farming and biohack for the top spot
  • Highlights how social media manipulates attention and emotion

Rage bait is officially 2025’s word of the year, Oxford University Press confirmed on Monday, shining a light on the internet culture that has dominated the past 12 months. The term, which describes online content deliberately meant to stir anger or outrage, has surged in use alongside endless scrolling and viral social media posts, the stuff that makes you click, comment, maybe even argue.

Rage bait Rage bait isn’t just clickbait — it’s Oxford University Press’ word of the year for 2025 iStock/Gemini AI

Keep ReadingShow less