Moving footage shows the moment a hero football coach disarmed and embraced a suicidal student who brought a loaded gun into class at a Portland High School.
Keanon Lowe, a Former University of Oregon football star, had wrestled with student Angel Granados-Diaz, 19, for the weapon as other students ran screaming out a back door during the May 17 incident.
Now footage has emerged of Lowe, 27, wrapping Granados-Diaz, 19, in a bear-hug as he hands the shotgun to a teacher who can be seen removing it from Parkrose High School.
Moving footage shows the moment hero football coach Keanon Lowe, (left), disarm and embrace Angel Granados-Diaz, (right), who brought a loaded gun into his school
Keanon Lowe, (left), was branded a hero after he disarmed Angel Granados-Diaz and removed him from a school after he intended to kill himself at Parkrose High School on May 17
In the footage, Granados-Diaz appears to be in distress, as both men are seen making their way down a corridor and out of the building before any students or staff were harmed in another potentially catastrophic school shooting.
Granados-Diaz, who had mental health issues, did not want to kill himself at home as his mother may find him so he went to school to do it, The Oregonian reported.
His lawyer claimed the teenager thought about ending his life in a bathroom but went into the classroom so that 911 would be called after shots were fired.
Classmates and friends had claimed that Granados-Diaz, who was a Parkrose High senior, had split up with his girlfriend and was feeling distressed and lonely.
He pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm in a public building and misdemeanor possession of a loaded firearm in public.
He was given a 36-month probationary sentence on Thursday and any mental health treatment that he requires.
In an interview following the incident, Lowe, who is head football and track coach at Parkrose High School, said he had a few moments with the teenager before police arrived.
‘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 said.
Lowe is seen in footage removing the gun from Angel Granados-Diaz and guiding him out of the classroom
Lowe passes the shotgun to an officer who is seen running out of the school before Lowe gets the clearly-distressed students in an embrace and holds him for several moments
‘I told him I was there to save him, I was there for a reason and this was a life worth living.’
Lowe said he managed to get the gun away from the student and pass it to a teacher while Lowe held down the student with his other hand. Lowe wrapped the student in a bear hug until police arrived, he said.
No one was injured. Police are still trying to determine if any shots were fired.
‘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,’ Lowe said.
Granados-Diaz had wanted to kill himself as he had recently split up with his girlfriend. Lowe said he managed to get the gun away from the student and pass it to a teacher while Lowe wrapped the student in a bear hug until police arrived
Granados-Diaz pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm in a public building and misdemeanor possession of a loaded firearm in public. He was given a 36-month probationary sentence on Thursday
‘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.’
Parkrose School District Superintendent Michael Lopes-Serrao said two students had previously informed a staff member of ‘concerning behavior’ by the student before the incident.
He said school security personnel were responding to those concerns when Granados-Diaz arrived at the classroom.
A police report says the incident was a ‘suicide attempt with a gun’ and someone added in bold handwriting ‘enhanced bail/suicidal.’
Lowe said he was called on a radio to go to a classroom in the fine arts building and get a student.
Parkrose High School football coach Keanon Lowe is seen talking to reporters in May after being credited with preventing a shooting at the school
Lowe was a star wide receiver at the University of Oregon, playing from 2011 to 2014. He caught 10 touchdown passes and had nearly 900 receiving yards
When he got there, the substitute teacher told him the student wasn’t in class. Lowe said he was about to leave when Granados-Diaz entered the room.
‘The universe works in crazy ways so I just happened to be in that same classroom,’ he said.
‘I was within arm’s length of him so it happened fast and I was able to get to him,’ he said. ‘I’m lucky in that way.’
Lowe was a star wide receiver at the University of Oregon, playing from 2011 to 2014. He caught 10 touchdown passes and had nearly 900 receiving yards.
After college, he worked as an offensive analyst for the San Francisco 49ers and as an analyst for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Parkrose School District Superintendent Michael Lopes-Serrao said two students had previously informed a staff member of ‘concerning behavior’ by the student before the incident. Students are seen outside the school on May 17
Police were positioned outside Parkrose High School Parkrose High School during a lockdown after a man armed with a gun was wrestled to the ground by a staff member
Lowe began working at Parkrose last year as the football and track coach, his LinkedIn profile says.
Before that, he worked for his high school alma mater, Jesuit High, where he had earned state defensive player of the year as a defensive back and was a standout sprinter.
In a tweet after the incident, he wrote that he had had no idea, that he would have to put his life on the line for one of his students.
He added: ‘When confronted with the test the universe presented me with, I didn’t see any other choice but to act. Thank God, I passed. I’ve spent the last 24 hours being more appreciative of my family and realizing we have a serious problem.
‘I’m blessed to be alive and extremely happy that the students are safe. I’m not sure what’s next, I haven’t had the time to really think about it. But I am sure I want to be a part of the solution to school gun violence.’
Police say Granados-Diaz had a single round in his shotgun while on campus and wasn’t carrying any other weapons or ammunition. He didn’t fire the gun while at the school.
Under Oregon law, a person can be charged with discharge of a firearm if they’re accused of firing or trying to fire a gun.