At least a thousand Denver high school students walked out of class on Friday morning in response to the death of a 16-year-old classmate at East High.
The protesters made their way to the state capitol, where they were invited to come inside and speak with lawmakers, as part of a lobby day to advocate for stricter gun laws.
Students from at least four Denver schools participated. Many wore red and white -- East High's school colors -- with shirts reading "Angels against gun violence," and signs saying "End the silence, stop gun violence." Before filing into the capitol building, many tucked their signs under the windshield wipers of lawmakers' cars, for them to find when they wrap up work later in the day.
Once inside, students filled the galleries around the House and Senate chambers, looking down on lawmakers doing their work.
Protesters remember East High student killed by a shooting last month
Luis Garcia died Wednesday due to a gunshot-related injury he sustained shortly after leaving school Feb. 13. Two teenagers were arrested, but no charges have been filed in the case.
Friday's demonstrators included Garcia's teammates on the East High soccer team. Junior Grant Elliot said his message to lawmakers is simple: "This can't keep happening.
"This was so hard for everyone around us and I can't imagine going through this again," said Elliot.
His teammate Mateo Tullar said he hasn't really been involved in gun control advocacy before, but Garcia's death made the issue painfully personal.
"We're here, really, just to make sure our voices are heard," said Tullar, a junior. "A bunch of teenagers in a room are not gonna really do anything. They don't want to listen to us. But we'll be loud. We're gonna make sure that they know why we're here."
The protest coincided with the annual lobby day for gun regulation advocates at the Capitol and was organized by the group Everytown for Gun Safety and its Colorado affiliates.
The students gathered on the West steps of the state Capitol building around 9 a.m. and demanded that lawmakers take action.
They said they should feel safe while at school.
"We don't think it's fair that people lose their lives for no reason, when they're innocent, when they're trying to get their education... it's not fair," said Leah Reyes, a student at Denver School for International Studies at Baker. "It just scares us. Like, if it were to happen to us."
One high school senior said she had attended and spoken at about three other similar events centered around ending gun violence.
Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod, who is running for Denver mayor, said she has spoken to students at East High, which lies in her district. They've told her they are afraid to walk to school and to be a young person.
"It's heartbreaking," Herod said. "And the hardest part of this job is knowing that there's so much more that we need to do to undo where we are today."
When asked their thoughts, Republican representatives said they were glad to see students exercising their rights.
Rep. Ron Weinberg of Loveland said that while protesters are outside "strongly, firmly believing in something," for the lawmakers in the halls, it's different.
"We're representatives in here, we don't represent ourselves, whereas individuals, we represent the 77,000 that put us here," Weinberg said. "So yeah, I respect them out there and kudos for getting involved in the process."
Democratic lawmakers have introduced some of their most sweeping gun regulations in years, including bills to raise the purchase age for all firearms to 21 years old and to require a three-day waiting period for gun buyers. A bill to ban certain types of firearms and accessories deemed particularly dangerous was introduced later on Friday.
A few lawmakers stepped out of the Capitol to listen to students' demands. Parents and school staff members also joined, along with students from nearby Northfield and other schools around the city.
Outside of East High's front door, people left flowers to honor Garcia. Before the walkout began, students read a poem written by Garcia talking about gun violence and wanting to have a safe school.
This story has been updated with comments from students and lawmakers and additional context about the planned event.
Bente Birkeland contributed to this report.
