The brave high school principal who tackled a would-be school shooter was crowned prom king by his grateful students over the weekend.
Principal Kirk Moore is the man in charge at Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma. Video footage of Moore being honored on Friday night has been getting rave reviews on social media. This was after the principal was captured on surveillance footage charging at a man with a gun on the high school campus April 7. Moore was shot in the leg as he disarmed the attacker, who was then arrested.
No students were harmed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our king,” an announcer can be heard saying at the Pauls Valley high school prom as students began cheering and giving him high fives. The DJ played the Nickelback song “Hero,” which was featured in the live action version of “Spider-Man” (2002).
The song’s chorus, “And they say that a hero can save us / I’m not going to stand here and wait,” played as Moore’s crown was placed on his head.
On April 7, former Pauls Valley High School student Victor Hawkins, 20, pointed a gun at a student in the entryway and pulled the trigger, but his firearm malfunctioned and he ducked behind a nearby vending machine in order to clear it. When he stepped out again, he fired at another student and missed.
Upon hearing the commotion and the gunfire, Principal Moore came out of his office as Hawkins fired again. Moore confronted the shooter directly and wrestled the firearm away, which is when he was shot in the leg. He and his assistant principal restrained Hawkins by lying on top of him, keeping him that way until law enforcement arrived.
Hawkins later stated that he had intended to kill Principal Moore specifically, and that he’d “wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did.”
“It doesn’t surprise me the actions that he took, but it is amazing, the actions that he took,” Don May, Pauls Valley’s police department chief, told NBC News. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids’ lives.”
Moore told NBC in a statement that he appreciated the “outpouring of love and support” he received following the event.
“Like so many educators around the country, we prepare for these events through training and careful assessment of the threats,” Moore told the outlet. “I am grateful that my instincts and training, as well as God’s hand, were available to me.”
Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.
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