Security camera footage caught the moment an Oklahoma high school principal tackled a gunman, which led to him getting shot in the leg by the suspect.
Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore was hailed as a hero by the local community. He thanked people for ‘an outpouring of love and support’ in a statement after the April 7 incident.
The shooter, 20-year-old Victor Lee Hawkins, was armed with two semi-automatic handguns when he walked into the lobby of the school, according to NBC News.
When he walked into the lobby of the school, he told everyone to get to the ground before trying to shoot one student, investigators said. His weapon jammed and after he cleared the malfunction, he fired at another student and missed.
The two students begged for their lives and were allowed to leave. Other students followed as Moore burst out from a nearby office and tackled Hawkins.
Moore was able to pin Hawkins to a bench and force the weapon out of his hand. Another school official ran over and kicked away the handgun before carrying it back into the office.
During the altercation, Hawkins was able to fire the weapon and strike Moore in the leg. Authorities said Moore was hospitalized and ‘healthy and recovering’.
Hawkins, once a student at the school, said he ‘did not like’ Moore, according to prosecutors.
The suspect was also inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, where Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 students and a teacher. Both Harris and Klebold died by suicide.
Hawkins allegedly told police he went to the school with firearms owned by his father that he took without permission.
He said he intended to kill students, faculty members, Moore and himself, according to the affidavit.
Pauls Valley Police Chief Don May said that Moore’s tackle of the shooter stopped what could have been a massacre.
‘It doesn’t surprise me the actions that he took, but it is amazing, the actions that he took,’ he said. ‘There’s not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids’ lives.’
Hawkins was in custody Wednesday on $1 million bail at the Garvin County Detention Center, according to jail records.
Per court records, he was charged with shooting with intent to kill, two counts of feloniously pointing a firearm and two counts of carrying a weapon to a public assembly.
Hawkins is due in court for a preliminary hearing on May 8.
