From Saugus to South Los Angeles, high school students walked out of class on Thursday to protest gun violence and support stricter gun control.
Following the massacre at Robb Elementary in the town of Uvalde on Tuesday, Saugus High School students say the attack prompts memories of Nov. 14, 2019, when a 16-year-old opened fire on their campus, killing two students and injuring three more.
Mia Tretta, now a junior, was shot in the abdomen during the attack.
“It’s so sad we can’t be safe at school … We are the only country with this problem that we can stop — it’s the legislators who need to take action,” she said.
Some opposition was reported, with one Saugus student telling KTLA that things were hurled at the demonstrators by those who disagreed.
Tretta said she’s grateful for those who did support them, as it’s her mission to keep alive the memory of those lost in 2019.
“My best friend’s name was Dominic Blackwell’ and it’s unfortunate we’ve had so many school shootings that nobody knows his name,” she said. “He’s become a statistic and I need to tell people that this isn’t OK.”
