The heroic Oklahoma high school principal shot tackling a Columbine-obsessed school shooter was crowned prom king and hailed by students for saving their lives, heartwarming video shows.
Pauls Valley High School students gave Kirk Moore the touching caught-on-camera prom night tribute Friday night – just weeks after he was shot in the leg while fearlessly wrestling down an armed ex-pupil who stormed into the school lobby with two loaded semi-automatic pistols.
The now-viral clip shows the principal high-fiving cheering students while walking through the overjoyed crowd after the DJ declared him “our king” and blasted Nickelback’s “Hero.”
Moore, 60, was all smiles as he was crowned, while hoards of clapping students swarmed him and jumped up and down in celebration, according to the heart-tugging video.
The educator was hailed for preventing a mass tragedy after pulse-racing surveillance footage captured him charging at 20-year-old gunman Victor Lee Hawkins just moments after he pointed a pistol at a student in the school lobby on April 7.
Moore, a district employee of more than 35 years, rushed to the area after hearing the commotion – as Hawkins turned and aimed the gun at him, firing a shot before being tackled.
The life-saving principal shoved the armed attacker toward a bench and pinned him down, as the terrified student fled and Hawkins dropped the gun.
Another staffer sprinted to the harrowing scene, helping keep Hawkins subdued until police arrived and took him into custody.
The crazed gunman allegedly told cops he “didn’t like Principal Moore” and “went to the school to “kill him,” according to court documents reviewed by KFOR.
Hawkins also reportedly admitted to stealing the guns from his dad, telling investigators he “wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did,” referring to the 1999 massacre that left 14 victims dead.
“The actions of the staff and the principal stepping in as soon as they saw a subject with a firearm saved lives today,” Hunter McKee, of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said.
Hawkins was hit with shooting with intent to kill and other firearm-related offenses.
He is due back in court on May 8.
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