Oklahoma principal tackles gunman, stops school shooting in lobby

Surveillance video from Pauls Valley High School shows Principal Kirk Moore sprinting into the lobby and driving a gunman to the floor moments after the suspect got inside the building. The struggle, captured on camera and released through an open records request, put Moore between students and a former pupil investigators say was trying to carry out a mass shooting.

Police identified the suspect as 20-year-old Victor Lee Hawkins, a former student who entered the school shortly before 2:20 p.m. on April 8, 2026, after someone inside pushed open a locked exterior door and let him in. Investigators said Hawkins carried two semiautomatic handguns and first tried to shoot a student, but the gun jammed. He then fired a shot and pointed the weapon at students seated on benches in the lobby.

At that point, Moore ran from his office, tackled Hawkins onto a bench and held him down until police arrived. An assistant principal removed the gun during the struggle and carried it into an office. Court documents and video show the gun was pointed directly at Moore’s head as the principal fought to control it. Moore was shot in the leg during the confrontation.

Authorities said Hawkins intended to kill students, faculty members, Moore and himself. Court documents also say he told investigators he wanted to carry out a school shooting like the Columbine shooters did, a reference to the 1999 massacre in Colorado that killed 14 victims and the two teenage attackers. The incident unfolded at Pauls Valley High School in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, about 60 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Moore was flown to a hospital in Oklahoma City, treated and later released. He said he was healthy and recovering and looked forward to returning to work. Pauls Valley Police Chief Don May said Moore “saved kids’ lives,” while Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, praised the response as heroic and pointed to the security failure that allowed Hawkins inside after the door was opened.

Hawkins was booked into the Garvin County Jail and charged with shooting with intent to kill, feloniously pointing a firearm and carrying a weapon to a public assembly, with reports also listing two counts of unlawful carry. His bail was set at $1 million, and he was expected back in court on May 8, 2026.