I was a bit slow on the uptake to get the details quickly, but when some of them rolled in, I shuddered to the bone.

A security guard at Parkrose (Ore.) High School tackled an armed student and prevented a tragedy at a place I now quite well.

I attended and graduated from high school at Parkrose, which is now part of the Portland Public School District. Fifty-two years ago, when I obtained my diploma, it was a suburban community with a school system run by its own elected board.

Oh, man. This story shakes me to my core.

A heroic security guard named Keanon Lowe prevented the tragedy. He tackled the student after getting a tip from other students who reportedly had noticed some “concerning activity” involving the youngster with the gun.

Lowe is a former wide receiver for the University of Oregon who now serves as head football and track coach at Parkrose High School.

According to ESPN.com: 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.

Parents and students called Lowe a “hero.” Do ya think?

I didn’t walk the halls of the current Parkrose campus. The school building from which I graduated was torn down and replaced with the new campus some years back. But . . . one still remains tied forever to the school system that provided one’s education. When stories like this make news, well, you feel it just a little more deeply.

Wow! I am so happy this story has turned out the all right. So, too, are the loved ones of the students who saw it unfold in real time.

Keanon Lowe deserves a raise in pay. A big raise at that!