Football coach hugs and disarms high school student who brought shotgun in class to kill himself
A moving video of the moment a hero football coach disarmed a gun-wielding student and hugged him averting a potential tragedy has been doing the rounds of social media. The incident reportedly occurred at Parkrose High School in Oregon where 27-year-old Keanon Lowe, a former University of Oregon football star, had to wrestle 19-year-old Angel Granados-Diaz for the weapon as other students screamed and hid behind a door.
The surveillance footage of the May 17 incident has now been released, showing Lowe disarming the visibly distraught student and holding him in a hug in an effort to comfort the teen.
The clip shows Granados-Diaz, who appears to be in distress, and Lowe make their way down a corridor and out of the building before any students or staff could be harmed in what could have easily turned into another school shooting. The teen, who was struggling with mental health issues, wanted to kill himsef but did not do it at home fearing his mother might catch him in the act. Therefore, he went to his school along with the gun with an intent to take his life there, according to The Oregonian.
According to Granados-Diaz's lawyer, the teenager, after arriving at school, thought of ending his life in a bathroom, however, he went into the classroom so that 911 could be called after he fired the shots. The teen's classmates and friends claimed that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend and was feeling lonely and distressed as a result.
The Parkrose High senior was later apprehended by the authorities and pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm in a public building and misdemeanor possession of a loaded firearm in public. Reports state that he was given a 36-month probationary sentence on Thursday and any additional mental health treatment that he requires.
Lowe, in an interview after the incident, said that he had a few moments with the teenager before authorities arrived at the school. "It was emotional for him, it was emotional for me. In that time, I felt compassion for him. A lot of times, especially when you're young, you don't realize what you're doing until it's over," Lowe, who is the head football and track coach at the school, said.
"I saw the look on his face, the look in his eyes, I looked at the gun, I realized it was a real gun and then my instincts just took over. I lunged for the gun, put two hands on the gun and he had his two hands on the gun and obviously the students are running out of the classroom," he said. " I told him I was there to save him, I was there for a reason and this was a life worth living."
The coach managed to take the gun away from the student and passed it on to a teacher while he tried to keep the teen calm.
No one was reportedly injured in the incident and authorities are still trying to determine if any shots were fired.