{"id":122267,"date":"2019-05-09T22:07:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T02:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=122267"},"modified":"2019-05-09T22:08:42","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T02:08:42","slug":"colorado-students-walk-out-in-protest-at-vigil-hijacked-by-politicians-pushing-gun-control-after-high-school-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=122267","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Students Walk Out in Protest at Vigil Hijacked by Politicians Pushing Gun Control After High School Shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>\u2018Not a statistic\u2019: Students walk out of Colorado shooting vigil to condemn politics and press<\/h1>\n<p>By Deanna Paul<br \/>\nThe Washington Post<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/89ff57b5-ff41-4a96-b3f5-623ee6b112c4\" width=\"480\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5>Students walked out of a vigil held May 8 in honor of the student killed in the STEM school shooting in Colorado. (Lance Murphey\/The Washington Post)<\/h5>\n<div id=\"f11gqa2GxA72pr\" class=\"moat-trackable pb-f-theme-normal pb-f-dehydrate-false pb-f-async-false full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-article-body\" data-chain-name=\"no-name\" data-feature-name=\"no-name\" data-feature-id=\"article\/article-body\" data-pb-fingerprint=\"0fC1O0pQlrD\">\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"article-body content-format-ans \">\n<article class=\"paywall\">\n<p data-elm-loc=\"1\">A vigil commemorating the victims of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2019\/05\/08\/heroic-details-emerge-colorado-school-shooting\/?utm_term=.7cd9eadf8eba\">STEM school shooting<\/a>\u00a0in Colorado ended in protest Wednesday evening after students said they refused to be used as pawns to promote gun control.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"2\">Hundreds attended the vigil \u2014 students, teachers, activists and elected officials \u2014 to honor Kendrick Castillo, the 18-year-old who was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2019\/05\/08\/heroic-details-emerge-colorado-school-shooting\/?utm_term=.7cd9eadf8eba\">fatally shot Tuesday<\/a>\u00a0at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in suburban Denver. But Castillo\u2019s classmates were moved to protest after two invitees, Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), spoke. Many of the teenagers at the vigil \u2014 at the nearby Highlands Ranch High School \u2014 perceived the speeches as politicizing their trauma when they wanted their own voices heard.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"2\">Students stood and stormed out. Some clapped and united in chants, deriding what they saw as a \u201cpolitical stunt.\u201d The school parking lot quickly filled with teenagers, cursing at the press and holding backlit cellphones in the air.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"5\">\u201cWhat happened at STEM is awful, but it\u2019s not a statistic. We can\u2019t be used for a reason for gun control. We are people, not a statement,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com\/video\/news\/local\/students-storm-out-of-vigil-for-victims-of-stem-school-shooting-after-event-takes-political-turn\/73-1780ed0e-9812-437f-9395-6d5f9dfc6a96\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one student<\/a>\u00a0wearing a yellow Spartans shirt said in video aired by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com\/video\/news\/local\/students-storm-out-of-vigil-for-victims-of-stem-school-shooting-after-event-takes-political-turn\/73-1780ed0e-9812-437f-9395-6d5f9dfc6a96\">9News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"6\">Another teenager voiced similar frustrations, saying: \u201cI thought this was about us, not about politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"6\"><span class=\"powa-tease franklin-light\">A school shooting in suburban Denver left one student dead and eight injured May 7, less than a month after the 20th anniversary of the Columbine massacre.<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"powa-byline franklin-light\">(Drea Cornejo\/The Washington Post)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-content inline-video\" data-elm-loc=\"8\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/89ff57b5-ff41-4a96-b3f5-623ee6b112c4\" width=\"480\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5>Students walked out of a vigil held May 8 in honor of the student killed in the STEM school shooting in Colorado. (Lance Murphey\/The Washington Post)<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"9\">Earlier Wednesday, in the wake of the STEM shooting, both Colorado politicians posted messages on Twitter endorsing changes to gun laws.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"10\">\u201cWe must pass common-sense gun violence laws,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepJasonCrow\/status\/1125885742830452736\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crow wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"11\">\u201cOur children deserve to live in a world where they don\u2019t fear going to school,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorBennet\/status\/1125944733153538049\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bennet tweeted, echoing<\/a>\u00a0the sentiment. \u201cSomething has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"interstitial-link \" data-elm-loc=\"12\"><i>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2018\/local\/school-shootings-database\/?utm_term=.124682c3e45f\">School shootings database: More than 228,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"14\">Castillo was killed three days before graduation. A bullet hit the high school senior as he tried to tackle the shooter. Eight other students were injured when two people opened fire. Police have identified the alleged shooters as Devon Erickson and Alec McKinney. They were expected to appear in court Friday to formally face charges in connection with the shooting. McKinney, who is under 18, is also set to learn whether he will be charged as an adult.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"15\">The gathering at Highlands Ranch High, one of several held Wednesday, was organized by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"16\">\u201cWe are here to lift up the voices of victims and survivors,\u201d a statement released by the Brady Center said Wednesday. \u201cWe are deeply sorry any part of this vigil did not provide the support, caring and sense of community we sought to foster and facilitate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"17\">The same students regathered in the school gymnasium later Wednesday evening and completed Castillo\u2019s commemoration.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"18\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com\/video\/news\/local\/students-storm-out-of-vigil-for-victims-of-stem-school-shooting-after-event-takes-political-turn\/73-1780ed0e-9812-437f-9395-6d5f9dfc6a96\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">One student<\/a>, in a moment captured by 9News, addressed the reconvened crowd and said: \u201cWe wanted Kendrick to be mourned. We wanted all of you to join us in that mourning. But that was not allowed here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"19\">\u201cWe\u2019re back now to tell you we love Kendrick and we love all of the survivors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"19\">___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2019\/05\/09\/not-statistic-students-walk-out-colorado-shooting-vigil-condemn-politics-press\/?utm_term=.bf6688b163ea\">https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2019\/05\/09\/not-statistic-students-walk-out-colorado-shooting-vigil-condemn-politics-press\/?utm_term=.bf6688b163ea<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"f0moBHlGxA72pr\" class=\"moat-trackable pb-f-theme-normal pb-f-dehydrate-false pb-f-async-true full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-page-comments-link\" data-chain-name=\"no-name\" data-feature-name=\"no-name\" data-feature-id=\"page\/comments-link\" data-pb-fingerprint=\"0f51O0pQlr6\">\n<div id=\"comment_link_button_wrapper\" class=\"comment-link-button-wrapper display-samePage\">\n<div id=\"comment_summary_button\">\n<div class=\"comment-summary-count\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Not a statistic\u2019: Students walk out of Colorado shooting vigil to condemn politics and press By Deanna Paul The Washington Post Students walked out of a vigil held May 8 in honor of the student killed in the STEM school &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=122267\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}