Ben Williams
A school principal in Oklahoma is being hailed a hero after stepping in during a terrifying shooting at Pauls Valley High School.
Students and officials have been praising Principal Kirk Moore in the aftermath of the incident, with many convinced his actions stopped the situation from becoming something even worse. What happened has shaken the small town of Pauls Valley, where police say this is the type of violence people never imagined would reach their own school gates.
Pauls Valley Police Chief Don May later said: “Certainly don’t expect these type of situations to happen in your town,” while State Superintendent Lindel Fields described it as ‘an educator’s worst nightmare’.
For students, the horror started to unfold towards the end of the school day. Reported by KFOR, Cody McLaughlin said: “Sixth hour ended and we were going to walk to our cars to get some things of our cars. And we heard a gunshot go off.”
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Dramatic footage has now shown the moment Moore tackled an armed former student to the floor inside the school, in a split-second intervention that authorities believe may have prevented a much greater tragedy.
Investigators say 20-year-old Victor Hawkins, a former Pauls Valley High School student, entered the school armed with a gun near the front doors, close to the principal’s office.
OSBI spokesperson Hunter McKee said: “Once the principal saw that the subject had a firearm, he stepped in to do what he could.”
“And [Moore] jumped on the jumped on the on the shooter,” he said. “And in the process of that, he got shot in the leg.”
Moore was the only person injured in the shooting and was flown to an Oklahoma City hospital, where officials say he is expected to recover.
As students tried to process what had happened, many struggled to believe it was real. William Harris said: “It was kind of like you try not to believe it for a second…. Not here. Not Pauls Valley.”
McLaughlin added: “You’re kind of flustered…You don’t know exactly what to do, but you’re trying to text everybody, tell everybody you’re okay. You’re trying to text your friends to make sure they’re okay. You know, it’s just there’s a lot of things, you know.”
Harris said: “We were just praying that everybody’s okay.”
Moore, a 35-year educator, has since been praised across the community. Brett Knight, superintendent of Pauls Valley Public Schools, said: “He was a Pauls Valley guy all his life. You won’t meet [a] bigger Panther.”
Don May also said: “I can’t overemphasize the actions of school staff, the people that don’t have firearms for protection, stepping in and protecting their kids. It was amazing for me to see that today.”
Garvin County Sheriff Jim Mullett added: “If it wasn’t for the actions of the principal and the staff, I don’t know what other outcome we had.”
Students have been just as clear about how they see Moore’s actions.Harris said: “I mean, he’s a hero.”
Knight added: “I know the word gets where it gets thrown around quite a bit but he is a hero.”
McLaughlin said: “He saved a lot of people today. He’s a good man.”
Hawkins was arrested and booked into the Garvin County Jail on multiple charges. In the aftermath of the shooting, classes were cancelled, and the district said counsellors would be made available for anyone affected.