About 1,000 students who attend three of the two dozen high schools in the District of Columbia’s neighboring Montogomery County, Md., walked out of classes Wednesday morning and headed to nearby train stations as part of a march for gun reform at the U.S. Capitol.
Hundreds from each high school — Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Md.; Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md.; and Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Md. — left school buildings at 9:30 a.m. and each traveled to the closest Metrorail station. Each of the high schools is 8-15 miles from the Capitol.
Hundreds of students from Montgomery Blair High School flood Colesville Rd, making their way into downtown Silver Spring. Their final destination? The U.S. Capitol. #StudentWalkout pic.twitter.com/qbs6hc2Md2— Allyson Chiu (@_allysonchiu) February 21, 2018
The trio of marches was organized on Facebook and social media, according to a report on NBC Washington.
#LIVE: Students walking out of Richard Montgomery high school to call for gun reform https://t.co/zk9iIoL2DJ
— ABC 7 News – WJLA (@ABC7News) February 21, 2018
Students have walked out of Richard Montgomery high school and will march to the Capitol @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/qpMWD08EQj
— Caroline Patrickis (@Cpatrickis) February 21, 2018
The march to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority stations is just the first step of the protests. Students will meet at Union Station, the closest train stop to the Capitol, and then march together three blocks to Capitol Hill.
Montgomery County students arrive at Union Station #StudentWalkout pic.twitter.com/liyfEU3xPU— Allyson Chiu (@_allysonchiu) February 21, 2018
Once on Capitol grounds, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., rallied students on the west side of the building.
“When America stands up, the NRA is no match for the power of a united America,” Raskin yelled at students using a megaphone.
The students erupted in a “Let’s go Jamie” chant following his 10-minute speech then transitioned to “hey, hey, NRA, how many kids have you killed today?”
The march on Washington comes the same day student survivors of the mass shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., meet with President Trump at the White House.
