Incredible video shows moment ‘hero’ school football coach disarms and hugs student with gun

Police say student's gun had a round of ammunition in it which he intended to use to kill himself

Extraordinary footage has revealed the moment a ‘hero’ school security guard and football coach disarmed a student who had brought a gun to school to kill himself.

Keanon Lowe took the gun off student Angel Granados-Diaz in a classroom and then hugged and consoled him before police officers arrived to take him into custody.

The extraordinary scene – which took place at Parkrose High School in Oregon – was captured on a security camera when the incident happened in May. The footage has just been released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.

Police say Granados-Diaz’s gun had a round of ammunition in it. The student, who his now 19, has been sentenced to three years of probation.

The district attorney’s office said Granados-Diaz would also get mental health help and treatment for substance abuse.

“I’m just happy everyone was OK,” Mr Lowe said as he walked out of the school about four hours after the incident, according to The Oregonian. “I’m happy I was able to be there for the kids and for the community.”

Parkrose school district superintendent Michael Lopes Serrao said in a letter to families on Friday evening that before the incident two students had informed a staff member of “concerning behaviour” by that student.

Security staff then responded, found the student and quickly disarmed him, he said.

“Thanks to their heroic efforts all students and staff are safe,” Mr Lopes Serrao wrote at the time.

Brad Yakots, the police spokesperson, said the first responding officers found the gunman being detained by the staff member in the hallway. A firearm was recovered at the school, he added.

Parkrose was evacuated and a nearby middle school was on lockdown for several hours as the investigation unfolded. The high school students were bused to a nearby parking lot where they were reunited with their parents.

The outcome was “the best-case scenario, absolutely,” Mr Yakots said. “The staff member did an excellent job by all accounts, [and] our officers arrived within minutes and went right in.”

Mr Lowe began working at Parkrose last year as the school’s head football and track and field coach, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before that, he worked for his high school alma mater, Jesuit High, where he earned state defensive player of the year as a defensive back and was a standout sprinter.