A school principal in Oklahoma is being hailed a hero after stepping in during a terrifying shooting at Pauls Valley High School.
In the days since the incident, students, parents, and officials have pointed to Principal Kirk Moore’s quick response as a key reason the situation did not escalate further. The shooting has rattled the close-knit community of Pauls Valley, where law enforcement said this kind of danger is not something residents ever expected to face at their local school.
Pauls Valley Police Chief Don May later said: “Certainly don’t expect these type of situations to happen in your town,” while State Superintendent Lindel Fields described it as ‘an educator’s worst nightmare’.
Students said the chaos began near the end of the school day. Reported by KFOR, Cody McLaughlin said: “Sixth hour ended and we were going to walk to our cars to get some things of our cars. And we heard a gunshot go off.”
Video from inside the building has since circulated, showing a former student with a gun being brought to the ground as Moore intervened. Authorities believe that rapid move may have helped prevent a larger tragedy.
Investigators reported that 20-year-old Victor Hawkins, who previously attended Pauls Valley High School, came into the school carrying a firearm near the main entrance, close to the principal’s office.
OSBI spokesperson Hunter McKee said: “Once the principal saw that the subject had a firearm, he stepped in to do what he could.”
“And [Moore] jumped on the jumped on the on the shooter,” he said. “And in the process of that, he got shot in the leg.”
Officials said Moore was the only person wounded. He was transported by air to a hospital in Oklahoma City and is expected to recover.
For many students, the shock lingered as they tried to understand what they had just lived through. William Harris said: “It was kind of like you try not to believe it for a second…. Not here. Not Pauls Valley.”
McLaughlin added: “You’re kind of flustered…You don’t know exactly what to do, but you’re trying to text everybody, tell everybody you’re okay. You’re trying to text your friends to make sure they’re okay. You know, it’s just there’s a lot of things, you know.”
Harris said: “We were just praying that everybody’s okay.”
Moore, described as a longtime educator, has been widely recognized for what he did. Brett Knight, superintendent of Pauls Valley Public Schools, said: “He was a Pauls Valley guy all his life. You won’t meet [a] bigger Panther.”
Don May also said: “I can’t overemphasize the actions of school staff, the people that don’t have firearms for protection, stepping in and protecting their kids. It was amazing for me to see that today.”
Garvin County Sheriff Jim Mullett added: “If it wasn’t for the actions of the principal and the staff, I don’t know what other outcome we had.”
Students echoed that same view when talking about Moore’s response. Harris said: “I mean, he’s a hero.”
Knight added: “I know the word gets where it gets thrown around quite a bit but he is a hero.”
McLaughlin said: “He saved a lot of people today. He’s a good man.”
Hawkins was taken into custody and booked into the Garvin County Jail on multiple charges. After the shooting, the district cancelled classes and said counsellors would be available to support anyone impacted.