Vigil For Florida School Shooting Victims Held In Falls Church

FALLS CHURCH, VA—Moms Demand Action, a gun control group, held a candlelight vigil Monday to honor the 17 victims killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida on Feb. 14 and call for action. The vigil was held at George Mason High School in Falls Church.

A volunteer estimated that 350 to 500 people showed up, WTOP reported. Among those attending were Rep. Don Beyer, George Mason students and Salli Garrigan, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting.

“In the days that followed, we were counseled, consoled and promised that this was an anomaly, this would never happen again. We were failed," said Garrigan at the rally, according to WTOP.

The crowd called for the Trump Administration and Congress to do something about gun violence after the latest mass shooting. “It’s devastating. There’s a problem in our nation. We have to take action now,” said Abby Spangler, a parent, according to WJLA.

Kaia Jefferson, a sophomore at George Mason, said the school shooting convinced her stand with other students. "One voice is great, but multiple voices together can create a lot more change,” she told WTOP.

Students and gun control advocates from around the U.S. have joined the Florida shooting survivors to demand action from legislators on reforming gun laws. Locally, protesters rallied at the NRA Headquarters Friday in Fairfax, and high school students held a "lie-in" protest in front of the White House Monday. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are also organizing a March for Our Lives in Washington, DC on March 24 to call for stricter gun laws.

The gunman, Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bail.

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