Wenatchee Hi students rally for school safety

Students at Wenatchee High School gathered on the high school track for a school sanctioned walkout. ASB president Mark Hernandez, a senior said the walkout was held as a tribute to the 17 lives lost one month ago today in Parkland, Florida and as conversation starter on gun violence

At the rally, students read tributes to each victim but no positions on gun control or school security were addressed to the crowd.

A small crowd of onlookers held signs in support of the students. Bruce Molton of Wenatchee was one of them

After a moment of silence, the rally ended and students with excused absences were invited to participate in a march and rally at Memorial Park.

Several hundred Wenatchee High students marched to the rally at Memorial Park where a crowd of about 100 adults were awaiting their arrival. The students chanted "enough is enough" as they marched down Orondo Ave. Then four speakers addressed the crowd gathered and spoke directly about the issues in the national debate on guns and school safety including High School Senior Chris Danko

Wenatchee's rally was one of thousands of student walkouts planned across US to protest gun violence on the one-month anniversary of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Organizers say nearly 3,000 walkouts were planned in states from Maine to Hawaii and as far away as Australia.

The coordinated walkout was organized by a youth wing of the group that orchestrated last year's Women's March in Washington, D.C.

Students left class at 10 a.m. local time to demonstrate for 17 minutes. That's one minute for each victim at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.