‘Saved lives’: Video shows principal tackling gunman at Oklahoma high school
PAULS VALLEY, Okla. (KSWO/Gray News) — Surveillance footage from a high school in Oklahoma appears to show a gunman getting tackled by the school’s principal shortly after entering the building.
Authorities said the suspected gunman entered the school on April 7, aimed a gun at two students in the lobby, before Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore rushed in.
The armed man was identified as former Pauls Valley student Victor Hawkins, 20.
Moore was able to take down Hawkins after rushing out of his office. Another staff member could also be seen in the video taking the former student’s gun away.
The Pauls Valley High School principal was shot in the leg during the confrontation but was taken to the hospital in stable condition, without any of the nearby students being injured.
“The actions of the staff and the principal stepping in as soon as they saw a subject with a firearm saved lives,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesman Hunter McKee said.
Hawkins’ charges include feloniously pointing a firearm, shooting with intent to kill and carrying a weapon to a public assembly.
The 20-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on May 8.
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