WATCH: High School Principal Shot While Tackling Student Shooter Is Crowned Prom King

Students at an Oklahoma high school thanked Principal Kirk Moore for preventing a school shooting tragedy — by crowning him king of the senior prom.

Viral video showed Moore high-fiving students and accepting the crown to the strains of “Hero” written by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger.

Moore is principal at Pauls Valley High School, about 60 miles south of Oklahoma City, and was shot in the leg when tackling 20-year-old Victor Lee Hawkins.

According to the arrest affidavit, Hawkins was a former student at the school who intended to kill students, faculty, and himself.

Hawkins allegedly walked into the school lobby carrying two semiautomatic handguns earlier this month and telling everyone to hit the ground. Hawkins allegedly tried to shoot one student when his weapon jammed.

Court documents said Hawkins fired on another student but missed, before Moore could be seen on school security video charging out of a nearby office and tackling Hawkins. Although Moore was shot, he successfully disarmed Hawkins, and held him down with the help of the assistant principal.

Hawkins described Moore as someone he “did not like,” prosecutors said, and claimed he “wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did,” referring to the 1999 tragedy in Colorado that killed 14.

Moore was hospitalized for his gunshot wound, but told NBC News that he was “healthy and recovering” and that he “looks forward to returning to work” as soon as he is able.

“It doesn’t surprise me the actions that he took, but it is amazing, the actions that he took,” said Pauls Valley Police Chief Don May. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that he saved kids’ lives.”

In a statement, Moore credited active shooter training for his actions that day.

“Like so many educators around the country, we prepare for these events through training and careful assessment of the threats,” Moore said. “I am grateful that my instincts and training, as well as God’s hand, were available to me.”

Moore also expressed his gratitude to the community for “an outpouring of love and support.”

Hawkins was being held on $1 million bail, according to jail records.

Watch the takedown above, via Scripps News.

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