1 month ago
Students astatine an Oklahoma precocious schoolhouse crowned their main prom king aft he charged, disarmed and was shot by an equipped intruder astatine their campus.
Kirk Moore, nan Pauls Valley precocious schoolhouse principal, received nan grant connected Friday nighttime aft his students voted to grant him for having defended them.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our king,” an announcer declared astatine nan Pauls Valley precocious schoolhouse prom.
Video of nan segment showed students cheering and celebrating arsenic Moore received nan honor, pinch a mates high-fiving him successful congratulations. One clip showed him stepping successful to sound of nan Nickelback opus Hero, nan deed taxable of nan 2002 movie Spider-Man.
Right aft personification put a crown connected Moore’s head, portion of nan song’s chorus blared connected nan video: “And they opportunity that a leader tin prevention america / I’m not going to guidelines present and wait.”
The jubilant infinitesimal punctuated a series of events that began pinch nan onslaught successful which Moore intervened astatine astir 2.30pm connected 7 April astatine Moore’s schoolhouse astir 60 miles (96.6km) southbound of Oklahoma City, a sworn constabulary document states.
According to investigators, nan alleged attacker, Victor Lee Hawkins, had 2 semi-automatic handguns and fired respective shots earlier he was disarmed by Moore and different schoolhouse unit personnel who arrived to help. School surveillance video captured nan intrusion.
Hawkins “entered nan school, pointed his pistol, and yelled for everyone to get connected nan ground”, typical supplier Meric Mussett of nan Oklahoma authorities bureau of investigation wrote successful nan sworn constabulary statement.
The connection added that nan alleged shooter pointed nan weapon astatine a female student successful nan lobby and pulled nan trigger, but nan limb malfunctioned.
“Hawkins past stepped retired from down nan vending instrumentality and pointed his weapon astatine a antheral student successful nan foyer,” Mussett’s connection said. “Principal Moore past came retired of his agency and charged astatine Hawkins.”
Moore was changeable successful nan limb arsenic he wrestled nan attacker, a 20-year-old described successful tribunal documents arsenic being obsessed pinch nan 1999 shooting astatine Colorado’s Columbine precocious schoolhouse successful which 12 students and 1 coach were killed.
Authorities praised Moore’s actions, saying he prevented a calamity and imaginable wide shooting astatine his school.
“It doesn’t astonishment maine nan actions that he took, but it is amazing, nan actions that he took,” Don May, Pauls Valley’s constabulary section chief, told NBC News. “There’s not a uncertainty successful my mind that he saved kids’ lives.”
Investigators said nan alleged attacker was a erstwhile Pauls Valley precocious schoolhouse student.
Moore said successful a connection reported by NBC that he was grateful for “an outpouring of emotion and support” aft nan onslaught that he thwarted.
“Like truthful galore educators astir nan country, we hole for these events done training and observant appraisal of nan threats,” Moore said. “I americium grateful that my instincts and training, arsenic good arsenic God’s hand, were disposable to me.”
