Students at an Oklahoma high school crowned their principal prom king on Friday (17 April) after he was shot while confronting and disarming an armed intruder on campus.
Kirk Moore, principal of Pauls Valley High School, received the honour during the school’s prom on Friday night after students voted to recognise his actions during the incident earlier this month.
Video shared on social media showed students cheering as Moore was crowned, entering to the song Hero by Nickelback.
The recognition followed an attack on 7 April, when a gunman entered the school and opened fire.
According to investigators, the suspect, identified in court documents as Victor Lee Hawkins, was armed with two semi-automatic handguns and fired multiple shots inside the building.
A sworn statement from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said the attacker entered the school, pointed a weapon at students and ordered people to get on the ground.
The document said he attempted to shoot a female student, but the gun malfunctioned. He then pointed the weapon at another student before Moore intervened.
The principal was shot in the leg as he charged the attacker and, with the help of another staff member, managed to disarm him. Surveillance footage captured the incident.
Police described the suspect as a former student of the school and said he had expressed an interest in the Columbine High School massacre.
Local officials said Moore’s actions likely prevented a far more serious outcome.
“It is amazing, the actions that he took,” said Don May, chief of the Pauls Valley Police Department.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids’ lives,” May stated.
Moore later said he was grateful for the support he had received following the incident.
“Like so many educators around the country, we prepare for these events through training and careful assessment of the threats,” the principal-turned-hero said.
“I am grateful that my instincts and training, as well as God’s hand, were available to me,” he concluded.
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