In this image taken from surveillance video released by Pauls Valley Public Schools, principal Kirk Moore can be seen struggling with Victor Hawkins, a former student who allegedly carried a firearm onto the campus on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. (Pauls Valley Public Schools via AP)
In this image taken from video provided by Oklahoma television station KFOR, authorities block off an area following a shooting inside a high school, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Pauls Valley, Okla. (KFOR via AP)
In this image taken from surveillance video released by Pauls Valley Public Schools, principal Kirk Moore can be seen struggling with Victor Hawkins, a former student who allegedly carried a firearm onto the campus on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. (Pauls Valley Public Schools via AP)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Newly released video shows a high school principal in Oklahoma tackling and disarming a former student who entered the lobby of the school and began firing a pistol.
Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore was shot in the leg during the April 7 attack, but managed to wrestle the suspect onto a bench, disarm him and remain on top of him until law enforcement officers arrived, according to court records.
The video, released by the school district in response to an Open Records Act request, shows a person in a dark hooded sweatshirt enter the school and point a handgun at two students in the lobby. After the gunman fires the weapon, Moore rushes at him, tackling and disarming him while the students run away. Another school official then enters the frame and kicks the gun away before picking it up and taking it away.
No students were injured in the attack.
“The actions of the staff and the principal stepping in as soon as they saw a subject with a firearm saved lives today,†Hunter McKee, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said after the shooting.
In a , Moore said: “I look forward to returning to work as soon as possible so that I may continue my life's work educating the next generation of Oklahoma leaders.â€
Authorities arrested Victor Lee Hawkins, 20, a former student at the school who has been charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm, shooting with intent to kill and pointing a firearm.
Hawkins told investigators that he went to the school with plans to kill students, Moore and then himself in a mass shooting “like the Columbine shooters did,†a reference to the in which 12 students and a teacher were killed, according to an OSBI affidavit.
Hawkins has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. His court-appointed attorney, Tyson Stanek, declined to comment on the charges, citing policies of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System.
Garvin County Detention Center records show Hawkins is being held on $1 million bond.
Pauls Valley is a community of about 6,000 people 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
The Associated Press
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