Oklahoma principal who tackled armed former student honored at Thunder game

Kirk Moore walked onto the Oklahoma City Thunder playoff scene Thursday night as a symbol of what school employees are increasingly asked to do in seconds: decide whether to freeze, flee or physically intervene when gunfire starts inside a school. The Pauls Valley High School principal, who tackled an armed former student during an attack that left no students injured, was honored for his bravery and later sat down with Matt Gutman to describe the moment.

The confrontation unfolded April 7 shortly after 2 p.m. at Pauls Valley High School in Pauls Valley, about 60 miles south of Oklahoma City. Authorities identified the suspect as 20-year-old Victor Hawkins, a former student who, according to court documents and law enforcement accounts, entered the building armed with two pistols and intended to kill students, faculty and himself. Surveillance video later captured the fight inside the school, showing Moore rushing Hawkins in the halls and lobby area. Moore was shot in the leg during the struggle, but no students were harmed.

The details have sharpened attention on the fragile line between prevention and catastrophe in American schools. Video reported from the case also showed that someone opened a locked door to let Hawkins inside, a reminder that school security often depends on layers of human judgment as much as hardware. Hawkins was booked on charges including pointing a firearm, shooting with intent to kill and unlawful carry. Court documents say he graduated from Pauls Valley High School in May 2025.

Moore has described the response in starkly simple terms, calling it “just instinct” and saying “God’s hand” was on everyone involved. That instinct has turned him into a local symbol of survival, and the community has responded in kind. Pauls Valley students later named him their 2026 prom king, churches held a community event to thank God that no lives were lost, and the National Association of School Resource Officers said it will give Moore its National Award of Valor.

The case is still moving through Garvin County District Court. A judge recently denied a gag-order request, and Hawkins appeared in court again on May 8. For Pauls Valley, the focus remains on the one decisive act that broke the violence’s momentum and kept a classroom tragedy from becoming a mass casualty event.