On May 17, Keanon Lowe stopped what could have been a tragedy.
The former Oregon football receiver was credited with disarming a gunman at a Portland, Ore. high school. Police said at the time a student entered a classroom at Parkrose High School wearing a black trench coat while carrying a loaded shotgun.
At the time, every detail on the incident was based on police reports and witnesses. But surveillance video was released Friday night, capturing the moment Lowe stopped the gunman.
Lowe, a former Oregon football standout, is a football and track and field coach at the high school. He also helps out as a security guard at the high school. He said he was called into the fine arts building to get a student, according to KOIN 6 News.
“I walk in there, I get to the classroom, I’m in the classroom for 15, 20 seconds — you know, I ask the teacher, ‘Is the student here?' The door opens — I’m within arm’s length of the door, about 3 feet away from the door, and there’s a kid with a gun, a shotgun. In a fraction of a second, I analyzed everything really fast. I saw the look in his face, look in his eyes, looked at the gun, realized it was a real gun and then my instincts just took over. I lunged for the gun, put two hands on the gun. He had his two hands on the gun and obviously the kids are running out of the classroom and screaming. 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."
The video shows Lowe being able to take the shotgun out of the shooter's hands. A nearby staffer comes by to take the weapon away. As that's happening, the video shows Lowe hugging the student as he de-escalates the situation.
“I’m just happy everyone was OK,” Lowe said at the time, via Oregon Live. “I’m happy I was able to be there for the kids and for the community.”
The student, Angel Granados-Diaz, pleaded guilty to gun charges on Oct. 10.
More details, via KOIN 6 News:
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Granados-Diaz brought the gun, which was loaded with one round, to the school grounds during a mental health crisis.
Officials said he never pointed the gun at anyone other than himself. Investigators said he made suicidal statements to another person before bringing the gun on campus.
Granados-Diaz’s lawyer said the teen was also drunk when he entered the school.
Granados-Diaz was handed a 36-month probation sentence as part of a pretrial agreement.
