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Students From Florida School Massacre Recount Shooting, Speak Out Against Gun Violence
"We will be the last mass shooting," said student Emma Gonzalez.
Following last week's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, students are speaking out. Teenage survivors from the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are taking to the media to share their stories, with many urging for an end to gun violence.
"He was shooting through the glass in the door," Matthew Walker told ABC News of the incident. "It was really bad. There were bullet holes everywhere. Everyone was freaking out. I did not see the shooter, but he did shoot through my class. He couldn't get inside because the door was locked."
"It was really loud. Then I heard it again," 15-year-old Michael Katz said. "Then I heard frantic screaming. I've never heard such loud screams in my life. Then we realized there was a shooting at my school."
He added, "I feel total shock, confusion. I've never been more scared in my life."
Suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, was an expelled student from the school. He came to the campus with an AR-15 rifle, which he purchased legally, to kill 17 people. Cruz admitted to his crimes following his arrest. As The New York Times reported, the suspect in one of the deadliest school shootings in modern US history confessed that he “began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds,” per a police arrest report.
He reportedly then discarded the weapon, a vest and ammunition. He tried to escape by blending in with other students who were fleeing the school, but he was arrested shortly after. Cruz faces 17 counts of premeditated murder.
Following the tragedy, some of the victims are using their platform to call for national gun violence reform. As USA Today reported, Emma Gonzalez spoke out at a rally in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, saying, “We will be the last mass shooting."
She later told CNN, "They say that criminals get guns no matter what laws you have in place. That might be true, but we don't have to encourage them to get those guns. We can make it harder ... and we can prevent some seriously nasty crimes and some seriously indescribable tragedies from occurring. And if somebody doesn't want to do that at this point, that's pathetic."
[Photo: Getty Images]
