PAULS VALLEY — Students at Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma crowned principal Kirk Moore prom king on Friday night, weeks after he charged and helped disarm an armed intruder who shot him on campus. Video of the event showed Moore walking into the prom to the Nickelback song "Hero" as students cheered, celebrated, and high-fived him.

An announcer declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, our king." The chorus of "Hero" then blared through the venue: "And they say that a hero can save us / I'm not going to stand here and wait."

According to a sworn police statement, Victor Lee Hawkins entered the school carrying two semi-automatic handguns, pointed a pistol, and yelled for everyone to get on the ground. He pointed the gun at a female student in the lobby and pulled the trigger, but the weapon malfunctioned. Hawkins then stepped out from behind a vending machine and pointed the gun at a male student in the foyer. Moore came out of his office and charged at Hawkins, and was shot in the leg as he wrestled the attacker. Another staff member arrived and helped subdue Hawkins until police arrived. The intrusion was captured on school surveillance video.

Don May, chief of the Pauls Valley Police Department, said, "It doesn't surprise me the actions that he took, but it is amazing, the actions that he took. There's not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids' lives."

Moore, 60, has been a district employee for more than 35 years. In a statement after the attack, he said he was grateful for "an outpouring of love and support."

"Like so many educators around the country, we prepare for these events through training and careful assessment of the threats. I am grateful that my instincts and training, as well as God's hand, were available to me," Moore said. The school has developed and practiced safety measures for an intruder on campus over the past decade.

According to an arrest affidavit, Hawkins, a 20-year-old 2025 graduate of the high school, took two of his father's weapons from a closet about 20 minutes before the incident and drove to the campus with the intent of killing students, faculty, and himself. Hawkins told investigators he wanted to "conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did," and that he did not like Moore and went to the school to kill him. Court documents describe Hawkins as being obsessed with the 1999 Columbine high school shooting, in which 12 students and one teacher were killed.

Hawkins remained at the Garvin County Detention Center on $1 million bail awaiting a May 8 court appearance. He faces charges of shooting with intent to kill, feloniously pointing a firearm, and carrying a weapon to a public assembly.