The Daily Populous Monday April 20th, 2026 day edition
Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by theindependentonline

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

A heroic Oklahoma high school principal, shot in the leg while taking down a school shooter, was crowned prom king this weekend.

A heartwarming video from Friday night showed students at Pauls Valley High School, 60 miles south of Oklahoma City, crowning Kirk Moore just weeks after he disarmed a former student who had plans of carrying out a mass shooting.

In the video from prom night, Moore walks through the crowd at the dance and high-fives cheering students. The DJ declared Moore “our king” and then played the Nickelback song “Hero.”

Moore has been lauded for his heroic actions after he wrestled Victor Lee Hawkins, a 20-year-old former student, to the ground after he entered the school and began firing a pistol earlier this month.

Surveillance footage captured Moore tackling Hawkins, disarming him and staying on top of him until police arrived April 7.

open image in gallery Oklahoma high school principal Kirk Moore was crowned prom king Friday after wrestling down a former student who was planning a mass shooting ( @DudespostingWs /X )

The video, released by the school district, showed the suspect in a dark hooded sweatshirt entering the school and pointing a handgun at two students in the lobby.

Moore can then be seen rushing at him and taking him to the ground. The footage also shows another teacher picking up the gun and taking it away.

No students were injured in the attack.

“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, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said after the shooting.

Hawkins was arrested and charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm, shooting with the intent to kill and pointing a firearm.

open image in gallery Surveillance video captured Moore tackling the would-be shooter to the ground earlier this month ( AP )

Hawkins told investigators that he had planned to kill students, Moore and then himself in a mass shooting “like the Columbine shooters did,” referencing the 1999 school shooting in Colorado that resulted in the deaths of 12 students and a teacher.

Hawkins has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. His court-appointed attorney, Tyson Stanek, declined to comment on the charges, citing policies of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. He is being held on a $1 million bond.

Kalkaline on April 20th, 2026 at 01:49 UTC »

These kids deserve to live without fear of a gunman shooting them down.

Caelinus on April 19th, 2026 at 18:22 UTC »

I had a teacher who, years after I was in his class, approached and managed to talk down a school shooter, getting him to stop before he even started.

I can't imagine how freaking scary that must have been. His life was on the edge of a knife, and I can only assume he went in hoping that at worst he would be spending it to delay the shooter.

He was always extremely good at connecting with the students and going above and beyond to make learning interesting and fun. And he leveraged his charisma to build connections that let him add in a whole bunch of extra curricular activities, like field trips and clubs, to really get us excited about History. (His subject.)

Fucking great guy. Had a huge impact on people even before he saved a bunch of lives.

hawkeye2124 on April 19th, 2026 at 17:45 UTC »

https://giphy.com/gifs/gKOKjThWebZo9Fsr0E