At the Stoneman Douglas shooting rally now: "You are responsible! You are responsible!" pic.twitter.com/RofuZwzM5Z
— julieturkewitz (@julieturkewitz) February 17, 2018
Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School gathered Saturday for a rally at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., courthouse to call for gun control following a mass shooting at their school.
Videos posted on social media by students and journalists show hundreds of people gathered, chanting and holding signs.
“You are responsible, you are responsible,” they chanted. “We are not responsible, we are not responsible.”
“Money killed my friends,” read one sign. “Stop gun violence now,” read another. “My friend died for what?” read a third.
I've lost track of the number of mass shootings I've covered for @NYTNational in the last three years. Eight? Ten? More? I've never seen teenagers respond like this. pic.twitter.com/7uDYZTs5l0
— julieturkewitz (@julieturkewitz) February 17, 2018
Students and parents spoke at the rally, with many calling out lawmakers, the National Rifle Association and President TrumpDonald TrumpSt. Louis lawyer who pointed gun at Black Lives Matter protesters considering Senate run Chauvin found guilty as nation exhales US says Iran negotiations are 'positive' MORE.
“The people in the government who are voted into power are lying to us. And us kids seem to be the only ones who notice and our parents to call ‘B.S.,’ ” one student said during her speech. “We are prepared to call ‘B.S.’ "
A gunman opened fire at the school on Wednesday, killing 17 people and injuring 14 others. The suspected gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, is a former student of the school who was expelled, and has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
"My friend died for what?" pic.twitter.com/NgNe8YFFtk
— julieturkewitz (@julieturkewitz) February 17, 2018
After the shooting, Democratic lawmakers have renewed their calls for gun control legislation. And students and parents from the school have appeared on television networks to passionately plead with lawmakers for action on gun control.
In a now-viral moment, a student from the school said on CNN, "Please, this is the 18th one this year. That's unacceptable. We're children. You guys are the adults."