DES MOINES, Iowa — Following a fatal shooting at Perry High School, students in Iowa are organizing a walkout on Monday and a march to the state capitol to express their disapproval of lawmakers’ perceived lack of action about gun violence.
March For Our Lives Iowa issued an invitation to kids to take part in the event mere hours after police reported that a Perry High School student had shot and murdered a sixth-grader on Thursday while also injuring seven other classmates. Students’ persistent complaints about the school massacre prompted the group to plan the walkout.
According to Akshara Eswar, one of the executive state directors of the group, “the shooting has hit really close to home for a lot of us,” she told the USA TODAY Network affiliate Des Moines Register. “People are upset. They can’t stop thinking about it.”
“That’s all we can talk about, so we need to use this energy,” Eswar continued. and work to ensure that our lawmakers are aware of our dissatisfaction with Iowa’s current gun restrictions.”
On Monday at noon, students from Bettendorf, Des Moines, Johnston, Waukee, and West Des Moines are anticipated to leave class.
The group, led by senior Eswar of Johnston High School, intends to present a letter outlining its legislative demands to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Additionally, the 2024 legislative session begins on Monday.
Gun safety activists have often called for tougher gun legislation in response to mass shootings in the US, and Thursday’s shooting was no exception. The massacre was condemned within hours by a number of Democratic lawmakers and gun control advocacy groups.
For the second consecutive year, the number of school shootings in the United States reached a record high in 2023. According to recent federal data, there were 188 shootings in elementary schools, both public and private, that resulted in casualties during the 2021–2022 school year.
Following the Perry High School shooting in Iowa, Donald Trump declares, “We have to get over it,” then turns to criticizing competitor schools.
“We can’t bear to be in school after School shooting.”
Legislative priorities for March for Our Lives include a bill requiring the reporting of stolen or lost firearms and a bill that would temporarily prohibit the purchase or possession of firearms by those who have been shown to be at risk of injuring themselves or others. After they got assistance, the ban would be revoked.
“I think our biggest hope or agenda item, I would say for this, is that legislators understand that we are terrified to be in school,” Eswar stated.
Legislators in Iowa have not recently given priority to passing legislation that directly affects the state’s children’s and citizens’ safety, according to Eswar. The spotlight has instead been on rules that forbid transgender girls and women from participating in sports, require school administrators to notify parents if a kid requests to use a new name or pronoun, and prohibit publications that portray sex acts from being taught in schools.
“They use all of this in the name of protecting children,” she continued. However, the truth is that every day is a risk. It’s unfair that we have to live in fear every day when we walk into school since we never really know what will happen that day.”
That’s just Dad, said the daughter of Perry High School principle, who diverted the gunman and spared lives.
An 11-year-old was killed in the shooting at Perry High School.
About 8,000 people live in Perry, a small rural community 40 miles northwest of Des Moines, where Thursday’s shooting took place. Shortly before classes were scheduled to resume on the first day back after winter break, on Thursday, an adolescent student armed with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun opened fire at Perry High School, according to authorities and school officials.
According to Mitch Mortvedt, a spokesman for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the shooting began in the cafeteria where children from various grades were having breakfast before spilling outside.
Ahmir Jolliff passed away, and six other people—two employees and four teenagers—were hurt, ranging in severity from minor to major. Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger was also injured. Dylan Butler, 17, was later identified as the gunman. Butler appears to have shot himself in the head.
Ahmir attended Perry Middle School and was a sixth grader. The family of Ahmir stated in an obituary that appeared in the Des Moines Register that he left behind a “legacy of love, compassion, and advocacy for those in need.”
In addition, the family requested that those bidding farewell make an effort to continue his legacy and his “unwavering determination to make the world a brighter place.” A week following the incident at Perry’s St. Patrick Catholic Church, his funeral is scheduled.
Brian Smith and Kevin Baskins from the Des Moines Register and The Associated Press contributed.
Samantha Hernandez writes for the Register on education. You may contact her at svhernandez@gannett.com or (515) 851-0982. You can follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter and Twitter at @svhernandez.
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