Oklahoma principal who tackled school shooter gets unexpected honor from students at Prom

On April 7, Kirk Moore, the Principal of Pauls Valley High School, emerged as a hero after attacking and disarming a potential high school shooter, Victor Hawkins. 20-year-old Hawkins was an alum of the school, according to KSWO. Two weeks after the attack, the high school hosted its prom and gave the crown to the most deserving king. The clip from prom night was shared by u/Gayc0b on Reddit, originally shared by Oz (@oz11201) on TikTok. The DJ was announcing the 'prom king' when he called Moore's name. The principal emerged from a throng of high school students who were screaming, jumping, and clapping their hands excitedly as he accepted the crown.

Two weeks before prom, the surveillance footage showed the shooter entering the premises of Pauls Valley High School through the lobby. A student was sitting in one of the seats as Hawkins was entering. A few minutes later, a female student entered the lobby on the opposite side of the door, but ran as soon as she saw Hawkins holding a gun. Just as Hawkins pointed the gun at the sitting student, Principal Kirk Moore emerged from his office, behind Hawkins, and tackled him onto the seats. The student managed to escape as another school staff member came in to take the gun out of Hawkins' hand and kicked it away. 

Fortunately for Moore's quick response, none of the students were injured. However, he was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital without any serious injuries. As for Victor Hawkins, he has been arrested and charged with four felonies. This includes two counts for pointing a firearm, one count of shooting with intent to kill, and one count for carrying a weapon to a public assembly. He will have to appear in court on May 8. Hunter McKee, the spokesman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, told KKTV11, "The actions of the staff and the principal stepping in as soon as they saw a subject with a firearm saved lives."

The Rockefeller Institute of Government research report used data from Jason R. Silva's study between 2000 to 2019. The report revealed that 66% of the school shootings between those years were foiled, 48% failed, 19% was attempted, and 15% were completed. Completed shooting in this case means there were four or more fatalities. Schools were the most common target for mass shootings, specifically high schools. It also revealed that 66% of the high school shootings were foiled and 7% failed. Victor Hawkins' case falls under a failed shooting because his plan was set into motion, but was stopped by Principal Moore.

Netizens praised Principal Moore's courageous act that potentially saved the lives of several students at Pauls Valley High School. u/J_Ryall wrote, "Absolute legend. Love seeing the kids recognize that he did it for them." u/Lil_Shanties added, "While he deserves far more than just this recognition, something tells me this gesture from his students will mean the most to him."

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