200 Students Walk Out At Middletown South After Florida Shooting

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — About 200 students walked out of class Wednesday afternoon at Middletown High School South in response to the Valentine's Day massacre at a Florida high school. At exactly 12 noon today, the Middletown students left their classrooms, put their backpacks in their lockers and walked outside.

They sat on the lawn for 17 minutes in honor of the 17 students and staff killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week. A 14-year-old girl who used to live in New Jersey was among those killed: Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, of Woodcliff Lake, was a freshman at the Florida public school. She is pictured above.

"The walk-out was not to advocate any particular viewpoint, but rather to remember the 17 children who died," said a sophomore at Middletown High School South who did not want his name used.

Some students at Middletown North said they were not allowed to walk out, as South did. Middletown schools superintendent Dr. Bill George said the South students informed the administration Tuesday of their plans. The North students told the principal Wednesday morning, and the school was unprepared to accommodate the walkout, he said. He said they are working so North can have a similar walkout soon. March 14, one month from the massacre, is being planned as a national day of action.

The Middletown teens are part of a groundswell of students across the nation leading walkouts to either simply remember the victims or to also call for gun reform in America. About 200 students Raritan High School in Hazlet walked out Wednesday. Students from Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, NJ walked out today as well. They are pictured below. The students read the names of each of the 17 victims who died in the shootings and provided a short biography of each victim. The students then held a moment of silence for each victim.

200 Hazlet Students Walk Out After Florida Shooting

Walkout At Southern Regional High Over Gun Violence (Video)

Stafford Township police said they support the Manahawkin students' actions.

"We salute the students in their efforts to stimulate discussion and change in an effort to stop the senseless violence that occurs far too often in our country," Stafford police wrote on Facebook.

Faculty members participated in the organization and supervision of the walk-out, Dr. George said. None of the students or staff will be punished for walking out of class, and they are doing this with the full support of the Middletown school district, Dr. George said, who called the walk-out "appropriate."

"In the wake of recent tragedies related to school violence, we respect our students' right to express their feelings," Dr. George said. "Our students' sympathetic support for the victims and their understanding of this complex societal issue was evident in their appropriate actions."

On Monday, a group of students from the three Toms River high schools and Central Regional rallied outside an Ocean County library to call for gun reform.

"Congress is doing nothing. We need Congress to do something," said Zach Dougherty, a Toms River North junior who organized Monday's protest. "Enough blood in our classrooms."

Some people expressed support for Middletown South students today on social media:

CNN video and image via YouTube