Students From Across The Northwest Join Protest Against Gun Violence

This story has been updated. 

Students from across the Pacific Northwest joined a nationwide walkout today to protest gun violence and to remember the 17 people killed in February's school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Classrooms emptied out at 10 a.m., with many schools holding 17-minute-long ceremonies to honor each of the students, teachers and staff killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School exactly one month ago today.

"I would say overall I am feeling heartbroken," said Maya Corral, a junior at South Eugene High in Eugene, Oregon. "I'm also feeling a sense of inspiration by the Parkland students and I am ready to create change in our community and our nation," she said. 

Credit Megan Farmer / KUOW

/

KUOW

In Seattle, students from Roosevelt High School marched through the streets holding signs that read "Enough Is Enough" and "Are We Next?" and chanting slogans for gun control. They and other students from nearby high schools, including University Prep and Nathan Hale High School, joined a large gathering at the University of Washington’s Red Square.

At Ballard High School in Seattle, senior Marlowe Barrington addressed a crowd of students and elected officials, including Washington Governor Jay Inslee. 

"It is my right to feel safe at school. And every moment we wait, we risk losing more lives," Barrington said. 

Students at Portland's Lincoln High School stood for 17 minutes of silence on the school's football field. They had arranged 17 empty desks along the 50-yard line. 

"There's a lot that can be done and there is a lot that's not being done. And I think we're trying to make a change," said Jason Abrams, a freshman at Lincoln. 

At Marysville Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Washington, social media posts showed students standing in the shape of a heart on the school’s football field. In 2014, the school was the site of a mass killing, when a student shot four students before turning the gun on himself.

Here is a sampling of tweets from around the region:

Derek Wang, John Ryan, Rachel McDonald, and Ericka Cruz Guevarra contributed to this report.