New footage from Pauls Valley High School captures the moment Principal Kirk Moore rushed an armed former student after gunfire erupted in the lobby.
PAULS VALLEY, OK — Newly released surveillance video shows a high school principal sprinting from his office and tackling an armed former student who had entered the school lobby on April 7, a confrontation that left the principal wounded and authorities saying other students were spared.
The video has renewed attention on the shooting at Pauls Valley High School, where Principal Kirk Moore was shot in the leg while trying to stop 20-year-old Victor Hawkins, a former student. Investigators say Hawkins entered the building armed with two loaded pistols and intended to kill students, faculty members and himself. The footage matters now because it gives the public its clearest view yet of how quickly the attack unfolded and why officials have called Moore’s actions lifesaving.
The footage begins with Hawkins entering the school lobby in the middle of the afternoon, moving through the foyer while students sit nearby. Investigators said the shooting happened at about 2:21 p.m. Court records say Hawkins first pointed a gun at one student and tried to fire, but the weapon malfunctioned. He then moved to clear the jam and later pointed the gun at another student. Within moments, Moore rushed out of his office and lunged at Hawkins near a bench in the foyer. The two men crashed into the seating area as another staff member joined the struggle and helped pull away the weapon. Moore was shot in the leg during the confrontation, but he stayed on Hawkins until officers arrived. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Hunter McKee later said the staff’s actions “saved lives.”
Authorities have identified Hawkins as a 20-year-old former Pauls Valley student who was arrested at the scene. According to investigators and an arrest affidavit, he entered the school carrying two loaded semi-automatic pistols. The affidavit says one student raised his hands and pleaded not to be shot after Hawkins aimed a weapon in the lobby. Investigators say Hawkins then lowered the gun and told the student to leave. The same affidavit says Moore heard the disturbance, ran into the foyer and tried to stop him. After Hawkins fired and wounded Moore, the principal wrestled him on a bench and got the pistol out of his hand. An assistant principal and other staff members helped pin Hawkins until law enforcement arrived. Officials have said no students were physically injured. Investigators also said the newly released video appears to show someone opening a door before Hawkins entered. Authorities have said they do not believe that person was working with him, and they have not publicly identified whether that person was a student or staff member.
The case has shaken Pauls Valley, a town of about 6,000 residents roughly 60 miles south of Oklahoma City, where school violence on this scale is rare and personal connections run deep. Students described the shooting as something they never expected to happen in their town. In the first hours after the attack, school officials placed the campus on lockdown while deputies, local police, highway patrol troopers and state investigators cleared the building and began interviews. Classes were canceled the next day, and the district opened counseling support for students and staff. Governor Kevin Stitt said Moore “acted bravely to protect students’ lives” and said he was grateful no students were harmed. The affidavit added a chilling layer to the case by alleging that Hawkins told investigators he wanted to carry out his own school shooting in the style of the 1999 Columbine attack and that he had specifically wanted to target Moore because he did not like him.
The criminal case is moving ahead in Garvin County. Authorities initially said Hawkins was booked on one count of shooting with intent to kill, two counts of pointing a firearm and two counts of unlawful carry. Subsequent reporting on the court case described the charges as including shooting with intent to kill, feloniously pointing a firearm and carrying a weapon into a public assembly. Court records cited by local television stations said Hawkins was being held on a $1 million bond. A court appearance was scheduled for May 8. Investigators have not publicly described a final motive beyond what Hawkins is alleged to have told agents after his arrest, and they have not said whether he had been in recent contact with anyone at the school before the shooting. Authorities also have not explained in detail how he reached the building armed or whether any additional security changes were made immediately after the attack.
The video is stark because of how ordinary the scene looks before it turns violent. Students are in the lobby. The front area appears calm. Then Hawkins enters, and the moment collapses into motion as Moore charges from his office with almost no pause. There is no long standoff in the footage and no visible hesitation from the principal. That compressed timeline has become central to how residents and officials talk about the shooting. Superintendent Brett Knight said shortly after the attack that Moore was the kind of leader who would protect students at any cost. Students echoed that view in local interviews, describing Moore as someone who cared deeply about the school. The surveillance clip does not show the full emotional weight carried by the people in the building that day, but it does capture the few seconds in which staff members moved toward danger rather than away from it.
The case now stands at the point where the video is public, the suspect is jailed and the legal process is beginning. The next major milestone is Hawkins’ scheduled court date on May 8, while investigators continue reviewing evidence from the school, witness statements and recorded interviews.
Author note: Last updated April 15, 2026.