School Coach Disarms Student With Gun Before Hugging Him

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ABC 10 News/YouTube

A high school football and track coach from the US disarmed a student carrying a gun, before giving him a hug.

Former Oregon Ducks football player Keanon Lowe – who works at Parkrose High School in Oregon – managed to disarm the student after they walked into his classroom carrying a gun.

The student – named as 19-year-old Angel Granados-Diaz – had reportedly been planning to use the shotgun to end his own life.

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You can find out more about this story in the following clip:

Footage shows Granados-Diaz walking down a school corridor before entering Lowe’s classroom. At this point, people could be seen running away in panic.

Lowe could then be seen backing out of the classroom door, shotgun in hand. He used his other hand to hold Granados-Diaz at arms length, before handing the shotgun to another staff member. At this point, Lowe gave the student a big hug, rubbing his back comfortingly.

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According to KATU, Lowe said:

Pretty crazy situation. In a fraction of a second, I analyzed everything really fast, saw the look in his face, looked at his eyes, looked at the gun, I realized it was a real gun and then my instincts just took over.

He added:

Then it was just me and that student. It was a real emotional time. 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.

[…] I let him know that I was there for him. I told him I was there to save him. I was there for a reason, and this is a life worth living.

ABC 10 News/YouTube

Granados-Diaz has since pleaded not guilty to the charges of reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm, and carrying a firearm into a public building.

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