Alameda Students Walk Out To Support Stricter Gun Control Laws
ALAMEDA (CBS SF) -- Several dozen students walked out of class at Alameda High School in solidarity with the victims of the shooting at a Florida school last week in which 17 people were killed, school and police officials said.
The students, who support stricter gun control laws, walked out of the high school at 2201 Encinal Ave. at about 11 a.m. Wednesday but returned to class by about 12:30 p.m., according to school and police officials.
The protest comes after a gunman allegedly opened fire at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last week and killed 17 people.
Alameda Unified School District spokeswoman Susan Davis said, "We support our students in speaking out" against gun violence.
Davis said the school district coordinated with Alameda police and the high school's principal to make sure the students were safe as they marched through city streets near the school.
Alameda police spokesman Lt. Hosh Durani said there weren't any problems with the students who participated in the march because they cooperated with officers who conducted traffic control and monitored the march.
The school district said in a message last week that, "Our hearts go out to the students, staff and families at Stoneman Douglas High School."
The district said it "takes student safety very seriously" and all of its schools regularly drill for campus intruder incidents. The district has crisis response and communication plans in place and reviews those plans regularly.
