'These kids were our age:' Triangle student walkout honors Florida victims

Students and faculty from schools in Wake, Durham, Cumberland and Johnston counties, from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and other districts in central North Carolina walked out of class for 17 minutes to honor the 17 people killed and others injured on Valentine’s Day.

Officials kept students indoors after rumors of gun violence. Later, the school's principal said there never was an actual threat and that the rumors were blown out of proportion from a conversation and a post on Snapchat.

Students from high schools, middle schools and elementary schools participated in the walkouts, which started at 10 a.m.

At East Chapel High School, about 1,500 students participated in the event. Students in Chapel Hill wore orange T-shirts with an image of the state of North Carolina and #Enough, which were donated by business owners and community members. Students also participated in "restorative circles," in which they could discuss their concerns and fears with classmates and teachers.

In all, nearly 1,400 students from Orange County Schools participated in the walkouts.

“I’m proud of our students for leading and using their voices to ask for change and safety,” said Dr. Todd Wirt, superintendent of Orange County Schools.

At Northern High School in Durham, students gathered on campus and observed a moment of silence for the Florida victims who were killed during the high school massacre.

"We were trying to spread support, I think, for each other," senior Chloe Baker said. "These kids were our age that died in Florida. It’s a huge issue that we have not gotten the chance to speak out about a lot."

At 71st High School in Fayetteville, students also walked out of class as part of the protest.

"Since the walkout in the Cumberland County Schools was neither encouraged nor discouraged and our goal was to ensure the supervision of students' safety, we are uncertain as to how many schools had students participate," a spokesperson for Cumberland County Schools said in a statement.

"The observance occurred without incident and participants respected the 17 minutes to honor the memory of the 17 victims of the Parkland, Florida, tragedy."

At Cary Academy, the walkout prompted a morning of assemblies, discussion groups and a drill before the students walked out of class.

"We wanted to put the walkout in some context for the students, and because they're so worried about safety right now, run a drill, and they could experience that recently but not too recently from the shooting," Cary Academy Head Dr. Michael Ehrhardt said.

Students had the opportunity to reflect on the Parkland shooting and talk about school safety.

"Cary Academy put a lot of time and effort in planning and resources and gave us the space and time to debrief about some tough topics," student Arman Kassam said.

At Apex Friendship High School, students signed a banner with messages of support for students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"I think our safety is important, and if money from the NRA is more important than our safety, then I think we really need to see policy change and see a change in how Washington thinks about how we feel," sophomore Alexandria Young said. "Most of us can't vote yet, so this is our main avenue to express ourselves."

Seventeen students read the 17 names of the people murdered in the Parkland mass shooting.

"I mean, when I hear those names, it brings me to tears," student Kayla Casey said. "I just can't deal with it. I feel like this is my one chance to get my voice out."

Students, parents and friends of Douglas Elementary School gathered at the Douglas Peace Garden to restore the garden in honor of the Parkland community and the school shooting victims.

The National School Walkout followed weeks of protests and walkouts around the country, protesting schools violence and gun regulation.

About 2,000 people at Green Hope High School in Cary walked out of class on Feb. 28 as part of the nationwide movement against school violence.

"We want this movement to be as inclusive as possible and as bipartisan as possible,” said Ryan Kemper, one of Green Hope’s walkout organizers. “What we're doing today is to stand in solidarity with those affected at Stoneman Douglas, and most of all, start to promote some change.”

Green Hope junior Megan Sharma used to attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. She left after her freshman year.

"It was the worst feeling in the world. Not knowing if your closest friends and family are safe," she said.

Triangle students also marched through downtown Raleigh in February, stopping at the State Capitol to demand reform to gun laws.

House Minority Leader Darren Jackson said the North Carolina General Assembly has been heading in the opposite direction in recent years by expanding gun rights.

"These young people have really inspired a movement and it’s spreading," he said. "It’s great to see people getting involved no matter what side of the issue you’re on. Our future depends on these children who are getting involved, so I’m very happy to see them taking a stance, no matter what that stance is."

“For the first 15 minutes, we didn't know what was going on. We thought it was an active shooter,” said Nick Moston, senior class president.

At West Johnston, students and faculty have embraced a different way to honor the lives lost.

Johnston County Schools Spokesperson Crystal Roberts said principals at each individual school decided how to mark the walkout day.

“Our principals know this is a teachable moment for our students,” Roberts said.

The day's theme was the power of young voices.

"This is our generation, and we are in place to fix what happened," Apex Friendship School student Faatimah Bell said. "If we don't make a movement, nothing will change, and this will keep happening, and many more lives will be lost."