Hundreds of West Boca High School students walked out of their classes Tuesday morning in a show of solidarity with the 17 students and faculty killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during last week’s school shooting.

The students walked to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, 10 miles south of West Boca High School, to call attention to the need for stronger gun control laws. A spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Miami Herald that his agency and the Broward Sheriff’s Office were following the students just to ensure their safety and make sure the roads stayed clear.

WATCH: Students from Florida's West Boca High School have walked out of their classes, heading towards Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as part of a call-to-action by students in the area after the mass shooting last week that killed 17 people https://t.co/JoGj3r547e pic.twitter.com/yqeNwj9PVM — CBS News (@CBSNews) February 20, 2018

Students gathered in the West Boca courtyard chanting “we want change!” before heading out on their march.

West Boca High students yell “WE WANT CHANGE” as they left school to protest for a change in Gun Control Laws #MSDStrong #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/RWKplxhAQ8 — MJ (@EMJAEEE_) February 20, 2018

Other high schools across south Florida, including Fort Lauderdale High School Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High in Miami, staged similar protests; Hialeah High School is reportedly planning a walkout on Wednesday.

Students at Fort Lauderdale High School demanding change in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. pic.twitter.com/NWTfYabilz — Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) February 20, 2018

The protests come as student activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas make their way to the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, where they will meet with legislators and attend a rally for gun control on Wednesday. Some student activists claim to have secured a meeting with Gov. Rick Scott (R), who has said he will not attend a CNN town hall on the subject. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) have all confirmed that they will attend the town hall, which will take place at the BB&T Center in Broward County on Wednesday and telecast live at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.


Marjory Stoneman Douglas student activists have already become the targets of a far-right smear campaign in the days following the shooting. Far-right blogs like Gateway Pundit have targeted students like David Hogg, who appeared on cable news shows after the shooting and made an impassioned plea for stricter gun laws.

“We’re children. You guys are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together. Come over your politics and get something done,” Hogg said during an interview with CNN last week.

This kid is a shill. He bragged about the number of interviews he is doing and is playing to the camera like he… https://t.co/6Gjt99frjt — Bradley Blakeman (@BlakemanB) February 20, 2018

Monday morning President Donald Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., embraced the smear campaign, liking a series of tweets with links to articles that suggested the student activists and survivors were part of an elaborate FBI plot to abolish the Second Amendment.