For a Hero Coach, a High Honor

Oregon's Keanon Lowe disarmed school gunman
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 31, 2020 1:56 PM CDT

It was a school gunman incident that ended like no other. And for his role in making sure nobody got hurt, Oregon's Keanon Lowe will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor Citizen Honor, reports the Oregonian. Lowe was the football coach at Parkrose High School last year when he disarmed a teen with a shotgun then wrapped the young man in a hug and comforted him until police arrived. "I think he needed a hug more than he needed to be tackled to the ground," Lowe says in an ESPN video about the incident.

Medals of Honor typically go to members of the military, notes CNN; Lowe has been chosen as one of six recipients of the civilian honor for 2020. No ceremony has been scheduled, however, because of the coronavirus outbreak. As for the teen gunman, who told Lowe he was suicidal at the time of the incident, he was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to seek mental health treatment. (Note: an earlier version of the story incorrectly stated Lowe was receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor.)

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