Oklahoma principal who disarmed gun-wielding intruder crowned prom king | Oklahoma
Students at a high school in Oklahoma were crowned prom king after the principal was attacked, disarmed and shot on their campus by an armed intruder.
Kirk Moore, Pauls Valley high school principal. accepted It’s an honor after his students voted Friday night to honor him for standing up for them.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our king,” said an announcer at the Pauls Valley high school prom.
Video of the crime scene was shown to students cheering and celebrating As Moore received the honor, a couple congratulated him and high-fived him. In one clip, he was seen walking towards the sound of the Nickelback song Hero, the hit theme to the 2002 movie Spider-Man.
Moments after someone placed a crown on Moore’s head, part of the song’s chorus was loudly shouted in the video: “And they say a hero might save us / I won’t stand here and wait.”
The euphoric moment capped off a series of events that began with Moore’s attack at the Moore school, about 60 miles south of Oklahoma City, around 2:30 p.m. on April 7. sworn police certificate states.
According to investigators, the alleged shooter, Victor Lee Hawkins, had two semi-automatic handguns and fired several shots before being disarmed by Moore and another school staff member who came to help. The intrusion was recorded on school security camera.
Special Agent Meric Mussett of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation wrote in a sworn police statement that Hawkins “entered the school, pointed his gun, and yelled for everyone to get on the floor.”
In the statement, it was stated that the attacker pointed the gun at a female student in the lobby and pulled the trigger, but the gun malfunctioned.
“Hawkins then emerged from behind the vending machine and pointed his gun at a male student in the foyer,” Mussett said in a statement. “Principal Moore then emerged from his office and attacked Hawkins.”
Moore was shot in the leg while wrestling with the 20-year-old attacker, who court documents say was obsessed with the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado that killed 12 students and a teacher.
Authorities praised Moore’s actions and said he prevented a tragedy and possible mass shooting at his school.
“The actions he took did not surprise me, but the actions he took were surprising,” said Don May, chief of the Pauls Valley police department. he told NBC News. “There is no doubt in my mind that he saved children’s lives.”
Investigators said the alleged attacker was a former Pauls Valley high school student.
Moore said in a statement reported by NBC that he was grateful for the “outpouring of love and support” following the foiled attack.
“Like many educators across the country, we prepare for these events by providing training and carefully assessing threats,” Moore said. “I am grateful that God’s hand was available to me along with my instincts and training.”
