Oklahoma principal crowned prom king after tackling armed former student

Pauls Valley High School students turned their prom into a public salute to the principal who rushed at an armed former student, tackled him to the floor and helped stop a shooting that could have been far worse.

Kirk Moore was crowned prom king on Friday, April 18, after students voted to honor the principal for confronting 20-year-old Victor Hawkins when Hawkins entered the school armed with two pistols just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7. Security video showed Hawkins walking through the front doors and appearing to rack the slide of a handgun before investigators said he pointed a gun at students and at Moore.

Moore was shot in the lower right leg during the struggle, but he stayed on top of Hawkins until law enforcement arrived. An assistant principal helped secure the weapon before police took control of the scene. No students were injured.

Moore was taken to a local hospital in stable condition and later airlifted. He was released about two days after the shooting and has since been recovering from the wound. At the prom, the tribute drew cheers from the crowd as the announcer introduced him as “our king,” a moment that framed the night around more than school spirit. It was an unmistakable public judgment about the kind of leadership students wanted to celebrate: not ceremony for its own sake, but a principal who stepped into danger for them.

The reaction in Pauls Valley has centered on trust, safety and the rare visibility of a school leader’s split-second decision. Parents and residents praised Moore’s response and said his actions protected the school and likely saved lives. The incident also landed in the larger national unease over school shootings, where even a routine spring prom carried the weight of a community measuring what happened inside its high school.

Court documents said Hawkins told investigators he wanted to carry out a Columbine-style attack and that he did not like Moore. Reports also said he wanted to kill students, faculty and himself. Hawkins has pleaded not guilty, is being held on a $1 million bond and has a court date set for May 8. The facts of the case left Pauls Valley with an unnerving contrast: one teenager came to school armed for violence, and the students later answered by placing the principal who stopped him at the center of their most public celebration.