PAULS VALLEY, Okla. — Newly released surveillance video shows a high school principal tackling and disarming a former student who opened fire in the school lobby, NBC News reported.
The April 7 incident, some of which was captured on newly released surveillance footage, began when a 20-year-old former student entered Pauls Valley High School carrying two handguns, according to Pauls Valley Police. The suspect, identified as Victor Lee Hawkins, entered the school’s lobby and told everyone to hit the ground.
| DOWNLOAD: Governing AI in policing — What law enforcement leaders need to know
The suspect then aimed at a student, but the gun malfunctioned, NBC reported. He then shot at another student but missed.
After the two students begged for mercy, the shooter allowed them to leave. As several students left the room, Principal Kirk Moore charged in and tackled the suspect, getting shot in the leg in the process.
Video shows him grabbing Hawkins’s hand, causing him to drop the gun to the floor as he forced him onto a seat. Another person can be seen kicking the gun away.
“It is amazing, the actions that he took,” Pauls Valley Police Chief Don May said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids’ lives.”
Moore released a statement on April 10, saying he was recovering well and looked forward to returning to work.
“Like so many educators around the country, we prepare for these events through training and careful assessment of the threats,” Moore said. “I am grateful that my instincts and training, as well as God’s hand, were available to me.”
Hawkins confessed that he intended to kill students, faculty, Moore and himself, according to police. He said he “wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did.”
Hawkins has been charged with shooting with intent to kill, feloniously pointing a firearm and carrying a weapon to a public assembly.
