College Football Standout, High School Coach Disarms and Embraces Suicidial Armed Student
Richard Moorhead
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Dramatic video has emerged of a former college football standout and high school coach disarming a distressed and suicidal student who had brought a loaded shotgun to Parkrose High School in Portland, Oregon.
Keanon Lowe, a former Oregon Ducks wide receiver and a current football coach for the high school, is seen in the dramatic school surveillance footage holding Angel Granados-Diaz in one hand and grasping the loaded shotgun the Parkrose student had brought to campus in the other. Granados-Diaz had come to school with the intention of committing suicide.
After another school staff member retrieves the gun, Lowe can be seen embracing and hugging the distressed young man.
Lowe spoke of his encounter with the student shortly after the incident occurred in May.
“I felt compassion for the kid, to be honest. I had a real-life conversation. Obviously, he broke down and I just wanted to 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 that this is a life worth living.”
Lowe also spoke of his belief that the universe works in unpredictable ways, and stated that he doesn’t view himself as a hero for his actions in the terrifying incident.
Granados-Diaz was sentenced to three years probation for felony possession of a firearm in a public building on Thursday. A judge mandated that he seek the mental health treatment he needs. Fortunately for the young man, the concerning incident played out in a manner that was far better than it could’ve been, thanks to the sudden brave actions of Lowe.
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