By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY — A southern Oklahoma high school principal is in stable condition after being shot in the leg Tuesday in the school lobby, authorities said.
Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore suffered the gunshot wound while he and other school staff were apprehending a former student who had entered the lobby with a firearm, state and local law enforcement said. No students or other school employees were hurt.
Victor Hawkins, 20, was arrested and booked into the Garvin County Jail on a complaint of pointing a firearm, shooting with intent to kill and unlawful carry, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported.
Pauls Valley Superintendent Brett Knight said all schools in the district will be closed tomorrow, and counseling will be available for students and staff.
He said Moore has worked in Pauls Valley schools for 35 years.
“I know the word gets thrown around quite a bit, but he is a hero today,” Knight told news reporters Tuesday afternoon.
The district’s school resource officer, who was at another campus at the time of the shooting, was the first member of law enforcement to arrive at the scene, Knight said. A state-funded school security program is the reason the district has a school resource officer, he said.
Gov. Kevin Stitt commended Moore, who he said “acted bravely to protect students’ lives.”
State Superintendent Lindel Fields came to Pauls Valley, more than 50 miles south of Oklahoma City, after the shooting to offer support.
“This is an educator’s worst nightmare,” Fields told reporters. “It doesn’t get any worse than this.
“The fact that somebody had a gun, so many things could have gone wrong. They handled things the best they could under a very, very difficult situation.”
