Hero Principle Stops School Mass Murder with Charge and takedown

Principle takes down Attempted school mass Murderer. 

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 foxnews.com, 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, Principle 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.

Analysis:

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 opportunity for Principle Moore to see the problem, formulate a plan, and take explosive action in those few precious seconds.

Principle Moore does not appear to be a Bruce Lee level martial artist or a Hulk Hogan body builder. 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 former student’s 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.

 ©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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