Updated at 5:30 p.m. with additional details throughout.
Dozens of Shepton High School students in Plano walked out of school Monday to show their support for stricter gun laws, less than two weeks after 17 people were killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
About 100 students gathered at the tennis courts for the protest, Plano ISD spokeswoman Lesley Range-Stanton said.
They held signs with messages like "Fear has no place at school" and "I'm scared of punishment, but I'm more scared of bullets."
During the walkout, a student read the names of the 17 people who died in the Parkland school shooting. They had a moment of silence before students took turns addressing each other about the change they wanted to see from their legislators.
Luke Kubehl, a 15-year-old sophomore who organized the demonstration, said his classmates had been talking about being scared to go to school after the Parkland shooting.
“I don’t feel anxiety or fear going to school, but you know the threat is there,” he said. “Even though there’s a low chance, there should be no chance.”
When he and his classmates saw walkouts happening in other parts of the country, they thought organizing one at Shepton would be a good way to memorialize the Parkland victims and speak out about gun control issues, Kubehl said.
“We don’t even have a vote,” he said. “This is the only way we can make our voices heard, even through we’re the ones most affected by it.”
Students at @SheptonStallion in #Plano are walking out of class in support of tougher gun laws. WATCH LIVE:
School administrators didn’t condone the demonstration because of security concerns, Kubehl said.
Administrators wanted to work with students to find a less disruptive way to voice their concerns, Range-Stanton said.
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