The high school principal who tackled and subdued a gunman last month gave credit where it was due this week, recounting in an interview that “I think God’s hand was on all of us.”
Kirk Moore, 60, told CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman that his instinct took over when he heard gunshots outside his office at Pauls Valley High School on April 7.
“In 37 years, you go through trainings and drills and what you should do,” Moore said.
“That all goes out the window. I’m glad it worked out the way it did again.”
He added, “I think God’s hand was on all of us, but I can’t explain why it happened the way it did.”
Kirk said he didn’t realize right away that he’d been shot in the leg during the struggle.
“We fell on the padded bench area, and he just started emptying the gun into the floor,” Moore told Gutman. “Once I got stood up, I felt the… warmth of the blood and then, I knew I’d been hit.”
Because of Moore’s selfless actions, no one else was injured in the incident.
The shooting suspect was later identified as Victor Hawkins, 20, a former student at the school. Hawkins remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bond.
He has pleaded not guilty, but investigators said he had taken two of his father’s semiautomatic handguns to the school that day with plans of staging “his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did,” NBC News reported.
Two teenage gunmen opened fire in 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 14 victims before they shot themselves.
Police said Hawkins tried to shoot a student when he first entered the school, but the weapon malfunctioned. He cleared the malfunction and shot at another student, but missed, according to an arrest affidavit.
“The two students pleaded for mercy and were allowed to leave, with other pupils following,” NBC News reported.
According to police accounts, that’s when Moore ran out of a nearby door and barreled into Hawkins, knocking him down. The two landed on a padded bench, and Moore pinned the young man down until an assistant principal came out to help.
Dramatic footage reveals the split-second moment Oklahoma principal Kirk Moore tackles a school shooter after being shot in the leg.
The suspect, a former student allegedly obsessed with the Columbine shooting, is quickly subdued and disarmed — preventing a potential tragedy at… pic.twitter.com/vwIpxeYhz3
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 15, 2026
Moore was flown to a hospital in a helicopter, where his wound was treated. He told Gutman he was gratified to encounter many familiar faces along the way.
“My MediFlight nurse, all of the firemen, police officers — former students,” he said.
He has since received accolades from around the globe for his heroic act. Students at the high school expressed their thanks by crowning him the prom king.
The Oklahoma Principal, Kirk Moore, that risked his life and took down an armed shooter at his school was crowned “Prom King”.
Love to see it.
Hero 👑 pic.twitter.com/pHGwQu4bM7
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 19, 2026
Hawkins reportedly told police that Moore was one of those he had intended to kill, along with students, faculty members, and himself.
The principal didn’t recall any bad blood between himself and Hawkins. He told CBS News’ Gutman, “I never had Victor in my office for any disciplinary reasons.”
Despite his injury and the young man’s stated intention to kill him and many others, Moore expressed compassion for the attacker.
“I feel like we need to pray for that kid as much as we pray for anybody,” Moore said. “I think he was just in a bad spot at that time.”
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