Oklahoma Principal Tackles Armed Former Student
Principal Kirk Moore was injured while disarming a 20-year-old gunman during a planned attack at Pauls Valley High School, Reidman reports.
- By Jesse Jacobs
- April 10, 2026
A rural Oklahoma high school principal is recovering after tackling an armed intruder who entered the campus with the intent of replicating the 1999 Columbine massacre, according to researcher David Reidman.
A 20-year-old suspect entered Pauls Valley High School on Monday afternoon carrying two firearms taken from a relative’s home. The suspect, a 2025 graduate of the school, allegedly pointed a weapon at a female student and attempted to fire, but the gun malfunctioned. While the gunman attempted to clear the jam behind a vending machine, he fired a subsequent shot at another student, which missed.
Principal Kirk Moore responded to the gunfire by charging and tackling the individual. During the ensuing struggle, Moore was shot in the leg but successfully disarmed the suspect and held him until law enforcement arrived. Moore was airlifted to a trauma center in Oklahoma City, while no students or other staff were injured.
Reidman, creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database, notes that the suspect reportedly told investigators he specifically targeted Moore and intended to carry out a high-profile mass shooting.
The incident highlights significant security challenges facing rural districts. Reidman reports that Pauls Valley utilizes a campus with multiple detached buildings. This layout makes a "single point of entry" design difficult to implement, as students must move between various doors throughout the school day.
Furthermore, Reidman highlights that schools in under-resourced areas often lack the funding for robust physical security, mental health services or behavioral assessments. He classifies the Oklahoma incident as a "near miss," comparing it to a 2015 shooting in Harrisburg, South Dakota, where a jammed weapon also prevented a mass casualty event.
Reidman argues that the lack of federal reporting for "near miss" events, incidents where fatalities were avoided by chance or mechanical failure, prevents school administrators from learning how to better secure campuses. While the aviation industry mandates reporting for close calls to improve safety, he notes that school security lacks a similar centralized data-sharing culture.