🚨 HOLY CRAP! Newly-released surveillance video shows a high school principal in Oklahoma TACKLING a school shooter before he could open fire on kids
What a HERO!
Principal Kirk Moore RUSHED the shooter when he aimed at his first would-be victim, wresting the gun away from him.… pic.twitter.com/Z75dmXKFLw
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 14, 2026
Security video shows Oklahoma principal Kirk Moore tackle a would-be school shooter. Principal Moore was wounded in the leg during the take-down.
According to Fox News, on April 7, 2026, at about 2:21 p.m., in Pauls Valley High School, a former student, Victor Hawkins, entered the school and pulled a semi-automatic pistol. He appears to rack the slide to chamber a cartridge.
About 4 seconds later, Principal Moore appears from the left and rear of the suspect, in full charge mode. Hawkins turns and manages to point the pistol toward Principal Moore, but Moore drives directly into Hawkins, driving him backward and down onto a bench in the school foyer. In two seconds, Moore took Hawkins down and gained control of Hawkins’ gun hand.
About nine seconds later, another person comes from the same area Moore came from and picks up the handgun from the floor of the foyer. The slide of the handgun is locked back. It appears the magazine has been emptied. There is no audio in the video, so it is difficult to know exactly when or how many shots were fired. Speaking to KOCO-TV, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Hunter McKee stated the multiple shots were fired, but only Principal Moore was wounded in the leg.
When looking at the video, it appears Hawkins has the handgun in his right hand inside the airlock. As he takes two steps into the school, he racks the slide. There was an opportunity for Principal Moore to see the problem, formulate a plan, and take explosive action in those few precious seconds.
Principal Moore does not appear to be a Bruce Lee-level martial artist or a Hulk Hogan bodybuilder. He has something more important. Strong motivation and the ability to take decisive action almost instantly. It was the correct decision. Yes, Principal Moore took a bullet. It could have been much worse. He could easily have been killed, along with other innocents. His direct, high-speed action short-circuited the attackers’ plans.
Most mass killers expect their victims to cower. Principal Moore did not cower. He acted.
In the military, this correspondent remembers something from an officer’s training. A good plan, executed now, beats a perfect plan executed too late.
We cannot know if Principal Moore would have done better with a handgun of his own. That is not the way it happened. Hats off to a brave man who did not hesitate to do what was needed in a dangerous situation.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
As I recall – in school shooting a few years ago, thinking in Tennessee, there was a slightly similar situation. Principal ran to gunfire and attempted to stop the shooter. Difference is that in that case principal was almost the only victim – partially because she slowed attack enough for lockdown. I suspect difference in outcome is related to differences in principal – in that case it was a 70+ year old woman running toward attacker who was more prepared… Moore might not be a martial artist or a body builder but he is a man, younger and considerably larger.… Read more »
I give Principal Moore an A+ for Bravery and Courage, and a D- in preparedness.
Perp. should have been DRT.
YOU are your own first responder. If not now, when? If not me, then who? There are those who constantly say, “Call the cops, lock the doors, go hide…” The truth to the issue is there just is not time for that. The guy walks in with a gun in hand and about 5 seconds later he is tackled and stopped from completing his evil intentions. Funny thing that no resource officer was present and if he had been could he have reacted any faster? What was the response time for the police? I don’t know but it was not… Read more »
In Israel, they have several soldiers stationed at schools to protect against terrorist attacks. If anyone is carrying a weapon and tries to enter school grounds, they are shot. Problem ended. I can never understand thse certain parents who are against having police or armed security guards at schools. Is it because their kids are trouble makers, or gang members or are selling drugs? And they are afraid the police will arrest them? Several ” parents” have said ” what if the police start shooting school children?” Huh? Are they serious? What nonsense. Home school your children! Do not send… Read more »
Brave man did the right thing here and no lives were lost . Parents need to thank God and this principle for his quick reaction time . He took a bullet so all those children go go home safe at the end of the school day .
The great gun free zone theory was devised by liberal greats like Dianne Frankenstein and Hillary Rodman.
I was a building-level school administrator, and pretty quickly after Columbine, the superintendent of my school division decided that all administrators should attain a CDL – Commercial Drivers License. That would enable them to use all the school buses parked on site and evacuate students from school quickly. You see, when there is an active shooter in your school, there won’t be time to summon all the regular bus drivers back to their schools and fire up their buses. Yes, this is stupid. Even with on-site administrators driving the buses, a shooter could pick off students boarding buses in all… Read more »
A very good example of someone that takes their job seriously.
Wow, impressively courageous action there. The shooter amazingly appears to have missed his torso somehow, even though it appears the pistol was pointed at his torso before contact was made. That principal is the one in a hundred who would make such a brave attempt.
One good thing happening here in OK since this incident, is a renewed push to fund more resource officers in our schools. Unfortunately, not much action on measures to arm select teachers. After I retired from federal service, I did some substitute teaching. Several times, I had to step in to help (while unarmed). Fortunately things never went as far as this incident. I still think having an armed teacher option has a place in improving school safety.