Peabody High School Students Honor Victims Of Parkland Shooting

PEABODY, MA -- In a ceremony that at times referential to the victims of victims of last month's school shooting in Parkland, FL and at times political, students at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School held a walkout. The demonstration had originally been schedule to coincide with a national walkout on Wednesday, but a snow day forced Peabody High School students to participate in the protest one day later than their peers in other parts of the country.

Students from around the state did, however, gather at the State House in Boston Wednesday. Chants of "No justice, no peace!" and "Hey hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go" flooded the Boston Common paths as the protest moved from the Cathedral Church of St. Paul to the State House; police stopped traffic to let them cross the street. "Not in our schools, not in our streets" rung out in front of the General (Joseph) Hooker Entrance to the State House, which turned into "State House? Our house!"

Student Audrey Gabriel read the names of the 17 teachers and students that were killed in Parkland, FL on Feb. 14. The shooter, a former student, is being held and has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges. The walkouts included moments of silence that last for 17 minutes and were to raise awareness of gun violence and pressure Congress to enact stricter gun controls.

In Peabody and several other Massachusetts communities, the walkouts were done with the blessing of school administrators. Last month Interim Superintendent Herb Levine sent a note to parents and students endorsing the idea and outlining the procedure for the walkout. Other students to speak at the Peabody walkout included Kirsten Crowe, Chinma Okananwa and Zachary Stark who called on lawmakers to address gun violence.

"Blocking common sense gun control is not protecting our rights," Okananwa said.

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Photos of students during Wednesday's State House rally by Jenna Fisher/Patch

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).