The attacker, Victor Lee Hawkins, a 20-year-old former student of Pauls Valley High School, was obsessed with the 1999 Columbine high school shooting. About 20 minutes before the incident, Hawkins took two of his father's weapons from a closet in their home and drove to the campus with the intent of killing students, faculty, and finally himself. Hawkins entered the school, pointed his pistol, and yelled for everyone to get on the ground, then pointed the gun at a female student in the lobby and pulled the trigger, but the weapon malfunctioned. Hawkins told investigators he wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did.
Hawkins did not like Moore, so he went to the school to kill Moore. The incident occurred shortly before 2:20 PM on April 7. Hawkins fired several shots before being disarmed by Moore and another staff member. Hawkins remains at the Garvin County detention center on $1 million bail, awaiting a court appearance on May 8, and faces charges of shooting with intent to kill, feloniously pointing a firearm, and carrying a weapon to a public assembly.
Pauls Valley High School has developed and practiced safety measures for intruders or dangerous individuals on campus over the past decade. The identity and role of the other staff member who helped disarm Hawkins, as well as the specific safety measures in place and whether they were activated during this incident, remain unknown. Moore needed hospital treatment for a wound to his lower right leg, but his current medical condition and prognosis are unclear, and it is not known how Hawkins gained access to the school or if there were any security breaches.