As thousands of students marched out of their classrooms for a #NationalSchoolWalkout Day on Friday, a student was shot and wounded while at school.
The student attending Forest High School in Ocala, Florida, was shot in the ankle, according to reports from CNN. The suspect is now in custody and other students have been bused to First Baptist Church of Ocala to be reunited with their parents.
While students at the high school—and the rest of the school district—shared that their walkout was canceled because of the shooting, gun control advocates on Twitter noted the tragic irony that the same violence these students planned to protest stopped their actual protest. The national walkout also marks the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, when two students killed 13 people and injured 24 others.
A school shooting on the day of a #NationalSchoolWalkout to remember students killed during a school shooting. How fittingly grim. https://t.co/7224nDjv7j
— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) April 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/OliviaResists/status/987328816791080961
Some students can't participate in the #NationalSchoolWalkout because they are barricaded in.
— Ted Corcoran (RedTRaccoon) (@RedTRaccoon) April 20, 2018
This is a photo from Forest High School in Ocala, Florida where a shooting occured this morning. https://t.co/4rYM0XWYwS
https://twitter.com/TheAlanvargas/status/987335954900795392
It’s #NationalSchoolWalkout and my school is on lock down because of school shooting at forest high school pic.twitter.com/ezyroqoA2k
— jnell (@Atinydabloom) April 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/987324131602550784
https://twitter.com/blogsofstuff/status/987336112485040131
Another school shooting in FL. 😭#NationalSchoolWalkout is for this reason. Our kids aren’t safe in schools.
— Lori Coleman (@DemocracyStorm) April 20, 2018
Politicians need to listen to our kids! Refusing to make #GunReform a priority makes every legislator an accomplice to these shootings. https://t.co/dbSgj14SOC
https://twitter.com/ashtonfoshee/status/987330422123237376
https://twitter.com/ssyl_a/status/987340198781603841
More than it’s ironic, it’s telling of just how prominent school shootings have become in the U.S. Everytown research reports that on average, there is one school shooting in the U.S. per week.