Children and adolescent development and health – watercress words by Dr Aletha

Not Just Another School Shooting

A recent news story reminded me of my med school days at a small Oklahoma town that usually isn’t newsworthy. But now it is but not for a positive reason. I tell you about it in this post, because it is a problem that touches us all.

Note: This post deals with an emotional topic that may trigger painful feelings for some people.

In the mid 1970s, I was studying medicine at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Part of the first-year curriculum involved placing us in local and rural physician offices to observe and, hopefully, learn something about practicing medicine

I spent time with a couple of doctors in the city and nearby suburbs, and then it was time for my 4-week rural rotation. I was assigned to go to Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, about 55 miles south of OKC, straight down Interstate 35.

I had never been to Pauls Valley and never lived in a small town, having grown up in Tulsa, the second-largest city in Oklahoma. So in that regard, it would be another learning experience.

I found a place where the doctors knew their patients as friends, neighbors, and sometimes relatives. Office visits offered a chance to catch up on life, as well as address medical issues. Despite living in a small town, the doctors practiced with the same level of knowledge and skill as in the city. People respected, appreciated, and trusted their doctors.

I finished my rotation with a new understanding of what it means to be a physician. I have never returned to Pauls Valley, nor have I thought about it.

Until I heard this story on the local TV news. Another school shooting.

But this story was different. This time, it was a principal who was shot. And he saved everyone else.

Pauls Valley principal receives heroism award for stopping school shooting

by Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
May 21, 2026

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma high school principal credited with stopping a school shooting has received a state award for heroism.

Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore accepted the Heroic Oklahoman Award from Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday. Stitt presented the award, meant for Oklahomans who display extraordinary heroism in the face of personal danger, to Moore during an Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting at the Capitol.

Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore, left, receives the Heroic Oklahoman Award from Gov. Kevin Stitt at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)

“I don’t have words to express the appreciation,” Moore said afterward. “I hate that such a tragic event happened. I appreciate all the attention, but I just – I’m ready to move on with life.”

Moore, on April 7, tackled a gunman who entered the high school lobby with a pistol, video of the incident shows.

He said he suffered a gunshot wound to his knee while subduing the intruder, but the bullet didn’t hit bone.

No other school staff or students were hurt.

“His courage reflects really the very best of Oklahomans,” Stitt said before giving Moore the award.

Security footage shows the gunman pointing a firearm at two students before Moore bolted out of the school office, tackled the shooter, and held him down while another staff member took the gun away.

Moore said he acted on pure instinct in that moment.

“Everybody was just reacting the way they’ve been trained,

When you’re in education, you’re not there to make money. You’re there for kids, and you’ll do anything for your kids.”
Principal Paul Moore

Moore was born and raised in Pauls Valley, a town of about 6,000 people more than 50 miles south of Oklahoma City. This is his 37th year working in Pauls Valley schools, he said.

In the wake of the shooting, a GoFundMe page and corporate donations have raised about $100,000 for a “Principal Moore fund,” he said. Moore intends to donate the money to former Pauls Valley students who finish college or a training program to become teachers or first responders.

The April 7 incident made international headlines, prompting the principal to be hailed as a hero worldwide.

Victor Hawkins, 20, has been charged in Garvin County District Court with shooting with intent to kill, two counts of feloniously pointing a firearm, and two counts of carrying a weapon to a public assembly, court records show.

Hawkins has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is a former student at the high school, law enforcement reported.

The students who were most directly affected by the incident haven’t returned to school, Moore said. They’re finishing the school year online.

“We’re getting them help,” he said. “It’s just a tough situation, but our kids are pretty resilient for the most part.”

It was a day, “where God had his hand on all of us.”
Kirk Moore, Principal

Republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

Accounts From Other Sources

The local newspaper reported that Mr. Moore was transported to Oklahoma City by helicopter for treatment at the university medical center, now OU Health. Although no vital organs were hit, a gunshot wound in the leg can be deadly. The femoral artery supplies blood to the leg. As one of the largest arteries in the body, damage can cause life-threatening hemorrhage.

Court documents state that Victor Hawkins intended to commit a mass shooting at the school and that he was influenced by the Columbine school shooting. During an arraignment, he told a judge he had every intention of going inside the school to shoot students, faculty, and then himself. (KOCO NEWS) The judge urged law enforcement to limit public comment on the case to protect his right to a fair trial.

Pauls Valley isn’t relying on “thoughts and prayers” in the aftermath of this tragedy. The Pauls Valley Board of Education got the early details as changes are in the planning stages to beef up security at all four schools in the wake of the shooting incident. (Pauls Valley Democrat newspaper)

Superintendent Dr. Brett Knight said he and others have worked weekly with state and federal education officials to learn more and move forward with a plan to improve security at each local school.

At the top of the list could be making a change to the main entry points at the schools. One change on the way is the addition of a school resource officer, giving Pauls Valley schools two SROs. One thing that could come from a grant is a weapon detection system, which Superintendent Knight said is far more advanced than metal detectors.

“Innocence has been taken away,” board President JR Jackson said, referring to the shooting aftermath. “This is the new norm.”

The “New Norm”

If you have been personally affected by a school shooting, I offer my condolences. I hope you are getting whatever help you need to recover.

As I wrote earlier, I haven’t thought about Pauls Valley in 50 years. I’m disappointed that this is the reason it made the news. I applaud and appreciate Principal Moore and the other principals and teachers like him.

And there are likely other kids like the one charged in this shooting and am frustrated that we seem unable to identify and stop them. I wonder why the MAHA movement ignores this issue.

What thoughts come into your mind when you hear about “another” school shooting?

What emotions do school shooting reports stir up for you?

What actions will you take about the issue of school violence? I hope you will keep it in mind as your communities hold primaries in preparation for the midterm elections in the fall.

Images in this Post

The cover photo is from the RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com and is not affiliated with Pauls Valley High School.

The statistical graphic is from USAFacts, “built on official US government data”.

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Dr. Aletha

Reading this related post might save your life.

How to Survive an Active Shooter

Shootings in the United States have resulted in numerous casualties across diverse demographics. An active shooter poses a significant threat, necessitating preparedness. The recommended response includes three strategies: RUN to safety, HIDE if escape is impossible, and FIGHT as a last resort. Prioritizing personal and collective safety is crucial.

Keep reading

Afraid of the Doctor-a book review

“Afraid of the Doctor” by Meghan L. Marsac and Melissa J. Hogan guides parents in preventing and managing medical trauma in children. It offers twelve strategies to support emotional well-being. The authors emphasize addressing both child and parent trauma during healthcare challenges.

Afraid of the Doctor: Every Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Managing Medical Trauma

by Meghan L. Marsac and Melissa J. Hogan

Written by two women who care about children, a lawyer and a psychologist, this book helps parents support their children through medical challenges and prevent or manage medical trauma.

Medical trauma can arise from a severe illness or injury, or from the treatment of a serious medical condition. Either way, this book addresses how these healthcare experiences lead to medical trauma in children, affecting their willingness to engage with medical care.

Afraid of the Doctor

Every Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Managing Medical Trauma

The authors’ goal is to give parents knowledge and skills to understand and address medical trauma, to better care for their child’s emotional and physical well-being during medical challenges.

The book offers twelve strategies parents can use to prevent and reduce medical trauma and support their child through medical interventions or chronic conditions.

Readers learn these strategies through character stories, anecdotes, step-by-step guides, examples, and research. These strategies can be adapted for specific groups, like very young children or those with cognitive or communication challenges.

Parents can experience trauma from managing their child’s medical challenges. The authors include tools for parents to recognize and address their response to medical trauma while caring for their child.

Read Sample from Book

Meet The Authors

Meghan L. Marsac

Dr. Meghan Marsac is a pediatric psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky and Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

She is a leader in the field of pediatric medical trauma, having multiple publications. Her primary goal is to improve the experience of living with medical conditions for children and families.

Dr. Marsac serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology and Journal of Traumatic Stress. Dr. Marsac has spoken extensively on understanding and promoting adjustment to injury and illness in children and their families.

She is CEO of the Cellie Coping Company, which has distributed over 2000 coping kits to families of children with medical conditions.

Dr. Marsac trains medical teams in trauma-informed medical care. Clinically, Dr. Marsac promotes evidence-based practices to help families manage medical treatment and emotional adjustment to challenging diagnoses and medical procedures.

She is the mom of two energetic, loving boys. They enjoy playing outside, playing tag, reading, playing video games, and creating projects.

Melissa J. Hogan

Melissa J. Hogan, JD, has a child with a rare, genetic disease who has faced a countless number of surgeries, specialists, and as a result, medical trauma. In addition to advocating for her son’s needs, she consults on clinical trials in rare and neurodegenerative disorders. Her articles have been published in several medical journals.

She founded the leading research and advocacy foundation in Hunter syndrome, Project Alive, which has raised millions of dollars for research.

She has worked as a healthcare attorney and speaks on health care and educational advocacy, rare diseases, and clinical trials.

She lives with her three sons and a service dog outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Authors’ Recommended Resources

After the Injury

Health Care Toolbox

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Resource to Download: What is Child Trauma?

c09d8214-c91f-43a0-a19c-486e2eca3ee6 Download

Why I recommend Afraid of the Doctor

I found this book browsing at my local library. I had never seen a book addressing this topic so I am glad to find this one.(I put affiliate links in this post.)

This book made me wonder how many children may have experienced trauma from encounters with me as a physician, not something I intentionally caused. I realized procedures that health professionals and even parents consider routine, like an X-ray or drawing blood, can be traumatic to children.

I recommend this book to every parent who wants to prepare their child for encounters with the healthcare system, especially for children with medical needs that require frequent and invasive contact.

The authors present the information in a straightforward, easy-to-understand format, utilizing twelve effective strategies. They explain what to do, how to do it, and offer examples of children and parents who used the strategy.

By the end of the book, we have followed each child’s story and see how they and their parent successfully managed medical trauma.

I recommend this book. If you don’t need it, you probably know someone who does. Do them a favor and forward this review to them.

This information is current as of the date of original publication or update but may have changed by the time you read this. Do not use this information for diagnosis or treatment purposes. Before making health decisions, discuss with a qualified healthcare professional.