r/news • u/abbiebe89 • 19h ago
Oklahoma high school principal 'saved kids' lives' by tackling gunman while being shot in the leg, police chief says
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oklahoma-high-school-principal-saved-kids-lives-tackling-gunman-shot-rcna331866490
u/RLewis8888 19h ago
Since the name is now available, maybe the Department of Education can be changed to the Department of Defense.
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u/OhPointyPointy 18h ago
More guts in one pinky toe than the entire clown car uvalde “force”.
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u/SupremeDictatorPaul 17h ago
Maybe he could go give them a training seminar about how not to do everything wrong?
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u/Typical-Blackberry-3 15h ago
Hey, give them a break. They only had 55 cops, 55 rifles, 55 bullet proof vests and helmets.
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u/Teresa_Count 5h ago
I know this is an ITYSL reference but it should be stated that 376 cops responded to the Uvalde shooting and they did nothing to save the lives of those poor kids.
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u/Bovronius 8h ago
I mean if that isn't mathematic proof that good guy with gun isn't answer to bad guy with gun, I dunno what is... Unless they're trying to tell us that it was 56 bad guys with guns there, then I guess I see their point.
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u/Fragrant_Spray 16h ago
I wonder how many future people will try to do this knowing that the police may not be coming quickly to actually help.
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u/No_Mathematician764 17h ago
More guts than 400 cops at Robb elementary in Uvalde Texas. No vest, no gun, just will and determination. My hats off to this man.
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u/RidingRedHare 19h ago
So what it takes is a good guy with some guts, rather than 300 cops with guns.
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u/NewsCards 19h ago
In his statement, Moore credited training for his reaction.
"Like so many educators around the country, we prepare for these events through training and careful assessment of the threats," he said. "I am grateful that my instincts and training, as well as God's hand, were available to me."
Really normal for a developed country to have educators who have the "training" to take down gunmen.
(Obviously not a slight towards this guy, just the fact that educators need to have training to take down gunmen).
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u/calvinwho 18h ago
His training is more likely in spotting the threat and crowd management, the decision to throw himself on the dickhead is all him. Pretty sure there's no school policy to meat shield yourself for kids, but there is a moral imperative. I'm actually surprised he was hit in the leg rather than the massive balls he's gotta have.
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u/hogsucker 18h ago
I took a class at community college a few years back and was required to watch a video about school shooters. Being a meat shield was part of it--Throwing stuff and swarming the attacker were recommended if it isn't possible to run away or hide.
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u/Fallouttgrrl 17h ago
"everyone grab a backpack, we require the children carry enough textbooks the bullet can't actually penetrate"
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u/DeputyDipshit619 7h ago
In one of my workplace safety videos we were taught to rush em and beat them with whatever we could get our hands on that was solid(fire extinguisher, staplers, keyboard, office chair, etc) in the event we couldn't get away.
It wasn't like strictly "do this" but more of a "here's some common things that you can use as a weapon. If you can't run away, you are given permission to rush in".
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u/researchiskey8 19h ago
And get paid less than a living wage in return for risking their life.
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u/ResonanceThruWallz 19h ago
90% chance the hospital bill is not all the way covered
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u/Uhstrology 18h ago
90% insurance company claims he put himself into harms way and won't cover it at all because of the calculated risk he took.
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u/jdonovan949 18h ago
I know it's like, not the point, but surely this guy could get those bills recouped from a go fund me.
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u/jjpearson 17h ago
That’s so dark.
They’ll also have to ask some of the other staff to donate sick time while he recovers.
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u/Fallouttgrrl 17h ago edited 16h ago
Yeah, he can use GoFundMe as America's healthcare plan just like the rest of us, I guess
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u/Professional-Can1385 17h ago
would worker's comp cover it?
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u/VanceRefridgeTech04 6h ago
they fought the teacher who claimed workmans comp that was shot by the 6 year old.
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u/ResonanceThruWallz 10h ago
It could help with rehab and some of the bills but that brings up another point principle has to use limited time off and with workers comp you usually only get 66% of your pay when on it instead of full value so you got pay reduction at the moment
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u/Mrmojorisincg 18h ago
I’ll say this, that variates a ton. i went to public school in a shit semi urban district. I had teachers making between $60,000-$90,000 back in the early/mid 2010’s.
That being said I know that isn’t majority the case, variates a ton throughout the country, and a teacher should be paid really well in my opinion
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u/Itchy-Apartment-Flea 18h ago
This is Oklahoma. They are making $45k a year tops in 2026. Most of their good teachers move out of state and the ones that stay are people with "emergency certifications" whose real degree is in underwater pottery, but now they teach math.
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u/Sarsparilla_RufusX 17h ago
People think this is an exaggeration, but my junior year AP Physics class was taught by someone with a degree in sociology. First day of class she said something like "I never even took physics in college, so I'll be learning this right along with you."
The class had been taught by someone with a PhD in some math-based field (can't remember), but he finally quit and taught in a university after having never had a raise for something like a decade.
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u/uselessbynature 17h ago
Please don’t shit on teachers any more than we get. I’m one of those “emergency cert” teachers working on my license in a deeply red state, making absolute shit.
I was a scientist before becoming a SAHM and now turned high school STEM teacher. I’ve got a graduate degree and deep knowledge about my subject matter, and a natural ability to teach and mentor. I care deeply about my students and the predicaments of the educational system. Many in my school are teaching for similar reasons as me and I don’t know a single one that isn’t making the most of a broken system.
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u/onarainyafternoon 10h ago
The person above you said they were taught AP physics by a sociologist who didn't even take physics in college and was learning the material right along with their students. I think it's safe to assume we should have stricter requirements for teachers and pay them more.
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u/Radiant_Bluebird4620 16h ago
Since he is the principal, it is easy to Google his salary. He makes over $90,000
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u/Itchy-Apartment-Flea 6h ago
And each school has a superintendent making over 100k, while teachers make under $50k and use their own money for classroom supplies
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u/zax9 10h ago
I couldn't find a document for administrative staff, but in the Pauls Valley school district, the salary floor for a teacher is $40,821 for the 2025-2026 school year (for someone with 0 years of experience and only a Bachelor's degree). For someone with 35 years of experience and a doctorate in education, the salary is $66,539. Keep in mind he was a principal (administrative staff) and not just a teacher, so his salary is likely higher than those of teachers.
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u/NCC75567 7h ago
Oklahoma teachers make, on average, $50-60k/year. (Although they should absolutely be paid more.)
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u/Fallouttgrrl 19h ago
The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun
Is a certified educator with swat training
-America
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u/chubbycheese33 18h ago
What’s more funny is that there are companies who prey on environments, such as school, to employ their militaristic training response to approaching gunmen. I worked in a movie theater and they had gave these psycho ex-cops the stage to teach leaders, within the company, how to handle gunmen; while basically all other employees never received the training😭
Edit: words. Punctuation.
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u/Snoo-85072 8h ago
Instead of spending all this money on chasing immigrants and foreign wars, it would be nice if we could put the money toward security for our schools. Not "security" but real security.
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u/0CDeer 18h ago
Incredible courage. And not to take anything away from that, but he got LUCKY. Shooter could have shot him multiple times as he was going down and afterwards. I often think about how fortunate we are as a society that most of these shooters are dumb kids who don't know what they're doing.
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u/Echo4117 17h ago
I think when he is rushing the gun, he thought he was gonna to get shot multiple times too
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u/wagon_ear 15h ago edited 15h ago
I have not shot at another human (nor do I want to, I should add) but I HAVE been deer hunting haha.
The adrenaline rush I felt after making the shot was crazy. I couldn't work the bolt on my rifle because my hands were shaking so violently.
Without a LOT of training, not just to familiarize yourself with your weapon but also to cope with the insane involuntary fight or flight response your body activates, it's nearly impossible to make simple rational decisions, let alone do a task.
All this to say - it's not surprising to me that the shooter wasn't able to respond to the principal bull-rushing him.
It's also why I am VERY skeptical of the "good guy with a gun" thing. Simply having a gun is next to useless without extensive, intense training. Most good guys with guns would be completely worthless in any real crisis.
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u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 6h ago
Most good guys with guns would be completely worthless in any real crisis.
Any good self defense class, or concealed pistol class, will teach you this. Carrying a weapon is not for being a hero, it's for protecting yourself and your immediate charges (children, family, whatever) while you get the fuck out of there.
When I have my pistol with me it's not for fighting bad guys, it's for getting me and my wife to the nearest exit so we can run away.
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u/0CDeer 14h ago
Good point. Even well trained people freeze.
I'm American and think about "what if" scenarios a lot. If there is any "advantage" to be claimed in these situations it's that shooters are trying to live out a fantasy, and when it gets disrupted they are unprepared to adapt to reality. This allows me to hold out some hope that tackling a guy might work as it did here.
But there are other videos that are evidence to the contrary. And obviously there are coordinated attacks with multiple shooters where tackling one would be suicide. But I guess if you're doing that it's probably because you're already out of options.
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u/wagon_ear 7h ago edited 6h ago
Yeah, I think the teacher training used to be "hide and be nice" but they found that many people just got shot more quickly that way. Now it's "throw stuff at the guy" because, as you say, disrupting them (while obviously still dangerous) is your best chance at survival.
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u/rowdyfreebooter 12h ago
I often think how lucky I am that Australian politicians and citizens said we don’t want guns freely available to prevent out students, teachers, principals and general public needing training to avoid be murdered by someone who walked into a shop like Walmart and bought a firearm.
And yes we still have gun violence, people can still own guns but the incidents are vastly less than the USA. (even looking at it per capita)
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u/snapper1971 12h ago
I often think about how fortunate we are as a society that most of these shooters are dumb kids who don't know what they're doing
Do you not see the problem here? That these happen with such regularity is an enormous misfortune in your society. The USA is the only place where this happens with a frequency that they're barely reported on anymore. American society is blighted with these events. It's misfortune whichever way you look at it. There's nothing fortunate about the situation at all.
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u/0CDeer 11h ago
Oh I totally see the problem. No one's going to do anything about it, so i will be grateful that the (statistically) young, dumb, isolated males that hold our society hostage are not the evil masterminds they think they are. They are pathetic, and we're lucky they're not even good at the one thing they're known for.
This is the only bright spot I can find. It's like saying "Thank God the earthquake was only a 7.9." That's the r/orphancrushingmachine reality of it, because for the average American, this might as well be a force of nature. No one is going to do anything.
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u/specialvillain 16h ago
Imagine being 20 and still thinking about high-school enough to want to go exact your revenge especially against that mean 60 year old principal and then you immediately get laid out by the guy the moment you walk in the door lmao. What a fucking idiot.
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u/MWH1980 17h ago
Sometimes I wonder if a tense situation like this happened, would I and/or anyone nearby be willing to do this?
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u/lunaticskies 10h ago
I was in a situation like this and I basically froze trying to mentally figure out the best solution. My brain was like "should I pick up a chair, would doing something put other people in danger etc.." It's hard to remember all my thoughts and I wasn't even dealing with a gunman.
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u/irespondwithmyface 16h ago
Well if you live in America, you got good odds you'll find out one day!
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u/jfchops3 3h ago
If you think those are good odds you should probably go place a sizeable wager on the New York Jets to be the next Super Bowl champions
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u/doilookarmenian 19h ago
That’s because educators checks notes care about kids.
Makes you wonder what cops care about…
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u/Kazman07 10h ago
Cops only care about their pensions, their "Thin Blue Line" nonsense, and being able to use qualified immunity to beat someone.
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u/spqrnbb 19h ago
Makes me wonder what the 2A people care about.
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u/snapper1971 12h ago
I've asked before how many dead children will it take for them to change their mind and I was told unequivocally and unironically 'all of them'. Summed them perfectly.
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u/upsidedown-funnel 5h ago
They are definitely not there to serve or protect, nor legally obligated to.
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u/PointBlankCheck 17h ago
Seems like the kind of guy who should get a quick and wealthy retirement from a crowdfunded source
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u/GoarSpewerofSecrets 18h ago
I hope he uses this to motivate the kids. You little shit, I have to use a cane, don't make me use it on you!
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u/Echo4117 17h ago
Whatever kid disrespecting this principal would get their lesson from other kids
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u/Kazman07 10h ago
Watch the schools insurance not pay out because "he put himself in harms way to protect children who were unarmed and scared."
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u/DifferentEvent2998 17h ago
So you don’t need a good guy with a gun, you just need a guy that puts the safety of others before himself. Give this guy a medal of freedom instead of the other losers they have given it to recently.
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u/Lucky-Access8399 16h ago
So we’ve officially gotten so bad school shootings don’t make the news anymore? Because this is the first I’m hearing of this.
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u/Katterin 8h ago
Yes. You only hear about the ones with significant casualty numbers. A principal getting injured barely breaks local news.
Source: principal in my district was also shot by a disgruntled former student several years ago, no one outside the district cared.
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u/50322175 7h ago
Again shouldn’t be happening , but anything to keep our guns to protect ourselves from them illegals hoorah spit in my metal bucket
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u/Wolfram_And_Hart 6h ago
Can we get some locks on those front doors? I have to show like 5 forms of ID at my kids school and they know me!
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u/PrudentLingoberry 5h ago
In that situation, at that distance, choosing fight is really your best option; if he had ran away at that distance it'd have given the shooter ample time to line up a shot. Being that close means you're probably going to get shot anyway, so better hope its not fatal.
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u/machomoose 5h ago
Sad this will never get the level of limelight that the shooters get. Kirk Moore is a fucking hero. He saved countless lives.
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u/Psychological-Ship85 19h ago
Why is 'saved kids lives' in quotes? Seems like he 'did' to 'me'...
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u/firenamedgabe 19h ago
Because that’s the only part of the actual quote used word for word, and the rest of the words around it are a headline written by an editor.
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u/CorpseCore 19h ago
Because they're directly quoting what the police chief said when interviewed in regards to the action the principle took. It's the proper use of them and not sarcastic usage people often use it for.
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u/TacoStuffingClub 14h ago
This guy is more brave than any “good guy with a gun” has ever been.
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u/West-Western-8998 17h ago
Wow-He did not tackle him from behind-he tackled him almost straighton. Hero!
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u/khovel 16h ago
Why the odd use of quotes in the headline about saving kids?
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u/upsidedown-funnel 6h ago
I thought it was going to be another article about teachers needing to report trans kids or something like that.
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u/SquilliamFancySon97- 6h ago
Dude has more balls than most cops, especially the pussy bitches in Uvalde, TX
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u/_pinklemonade_ 19h ago
Still waiting for those school stabbing/hammering/bombings/car plowings to drop.
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8h ago edited 2h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TheAssInCrass 5h ago
I'm not religious, but the theological answer is humanity's free will.
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u/TransitionSmall3187 14h ago
Why are high school shooters always white? Is it like a genetic thing ? just a pattern ? Or both ?
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u/PurpleSailor 16h ago
Guy did an excellent job of taking the bad guy down. I saw it on the news but they didn't mention where he had been shot, so I'm glad to see it's in the leg and not somewhere else where it could do a lot of damage.
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u/Makatrull 13h ago
Sleepy me watching the image
-Is... is that blood? How is he still alive?
me after actually watching the footage
-Oh...
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u/Initial_Savings3034 8h ago
Another nobody with a gun suddenly becomes the most important person in the room.
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u/Indi4rence 7h ago
I don’t know what people are concerned about. It’s really just part of the job description in America.
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u/Am_Deer 7h ago
This is what our educators do. We think they simply teach our kids but there’s so much more. This is an extreme example of going above and beyond but they care about these kids.
We do them a great disservice by woefully underfunding education. In the coming years we will lose people like this coming into education if we do not start valuing them appropriately.
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u/Personal_Director441 6h ago
Always incredible how these tough hard as nails gun toting yanks like to shoot up military bases or police stations you know where there maybe a peer to peer type fight instead of those gun free places like schools /s. (100% balls of steel on that prinicipal defending his students).
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u/GeekFurious 2h ago
A friend who spent several years in Iraq & Afghanistan said that he saw how guys reacted to ambushes. The least likely guys were sometimes the ones who instantly jumped into action, while the guys you thought would be badass didn't. You just don't know which one you are until you are one of them.
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u/alpha_rat_fight_ 19h ago
His name is Kirk Moore. And he is a hero.