Teacher Who Disarmed, Then Hugged a Student Will Receive The Citizen Congressional Medal of Honor

Keanon Lowe saved a life in May, 2019 when a student at the high school he worked at as a football coach and security guard tried to take his own life.

The student walked into a Parkrose High School classroom, he intended to use a shotgun to take his own life.

At the time, the reports said the coach tackled the student and disarmed him, but surveillance footage showed otherwise. Lowe grabbed the gun from the student and handed it to another faculty member, who left the hallway. Lowe immediately turned and pulled the crying student into an embrace, where they stayed for some time.

The student was sentenced to three years probation and mental health treatment for bringing a weapon to school.

The coach is now receiving one of the highest honors in our country. Lowe and five others have been chosen to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

"In that time, I felt compassion for him," says Lowe, "A lot of times, especially when you're young, you don't realize what you're doing until it's over."