Grateful School Awards Principle That Stopped School Shooter The PERFECT ‘Hero’s Reward’

But for the heroic and selfless actions of a fast-thinking principle, one school’s graduation class would have been somber and marked by empty chairs with grad caps representing those whose memory alone made it to the end of the year.

Instead, the unarmed principle charged toward the guy with the gun, and changed history.

The original event is reported this way:

In an arrest affidavit, investigators said Victor Lee Hawkins, 20, armed with two semiautomatic handguns, walked into the lobby of the school that afternoon, told everyone to hit the ground and tried to shoot one student but was thwarted by a malfunctioning weapon.

After he cleared the malfunction, he opened fire on another student but missed, according to the document.

The two students pleaded for mercy and were allowed to leave, with other pupils following, as Moore charged out of a nearby door and tackled Hawkins, pinning his face down on a bench, removing a gun from his hand and holding him down with the help of an assistant principal, according to the affidavit and school security video.

Hawkins, a former student at the school, described Moore as someone he “did not like,” prosecutors alleged, and said he “wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did,” referring to the 1999 high school shooting in Colorado that ended in the deaths of 14 victims and two teenage shooters.

Investigators said Hawkins admitted going to the school with two firearms belonging to his father, which he is alleged to have taken without permission.

He said his intention was to kill students, faculty members, Moore and himself, the affidavit said. — NBCNews

You can see footage of the Principle rushing toward the danger and disarming the would-be Columbine killer here:

Absolute hero!!
This is surveillance footage from the lobby of Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma, captured on April 7, 2026. It shows Principal Kirk Moore heroically tackling and disarming Victor Hawkins who entered the school armed with two loaded semi-automatic pistols. pic.twitter.com/OUTMrEgJF6

— Freyja™ (@FreyjaTarte) April 15, 2026

Principle Kirk Moore took a bullet in the leg on April 7, and was hospitalized. Thanks to his heroics, his was the only injury of the day. He recovered and was able to show up for his school’s prom less than two weeks later.

Not surprisingly, Principle Moore got a hero’s welcome at Pauls Valley High School.

More than that, he was treated like a king.

The heroic principle who tackled a shooter was honored for his actions by becoming the prom king. https://t.co/yPOQ08wJtZ pic.twitter.com/Bunm8BaANo

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) April 19, 2026

He was voted prom king, and given the crown.

Police were minutes away. But one Principle, with more love of his students than fear for his own safety, charged the would-be killer.

The routinerun-hide-fight advice we are given could have left us with empty chairs and a tragic ending. But Principle Moore had principles and courage.

Keep this in mind the next time anyone asks whether arming at least some of the school staff is such a terrible idea.