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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With signs and megaphones in tow, a crowd of about 30 gathered at Albuquerque Public Schools’ main office Wednesday evening.

The group was protesting the district’s acceptance and use of National Rifle Association funding in the wake of school shootings nationwide.

Tatiana Sharif, an organizer, said the NRA money goes toward Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, which she doesn’t think is a vital program for schools.

“I don’t think schools should be teaching kids how to use guns,” the 20-year-old said.

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An Associated Press analysis found districts that got the largest amount from the NRA usually used it for JROTC programs, including $126,000 given to Albuquerque schools.

The analysis also found about 500 schools received more than $7.3 million from 2010 through 2016.

Sharif said the aim of the protest is to get APS to stop accepting what the group called “bloody money” — a move Sharif believed would be a “step in the right direction.”

The chants from the crowd included: “APS give it a rest” and “NRA we call BS.”

“It shows they prioritize money over their own students lives,” said Citlali Tierney, 17, on the NRA funding.

And Hope Alvarado, 22, who was there representing Native liberation group Red Nation, emphasized the importance of young activists since they are the people most affected by school shootings.

A sit-in was planned, but the doors to the APS building were locked. Organizers banged on the windows and chanted, resulting in a couple of APS police officers called to “keep the peace.”

The group felt it was important to go inside the building because it would send a louder message to an audience that “hasn’t really taken us seriously,” said Sharif.

Board of Education members were not present.

The rally had a moment of silence for victims of school shootings, including 17 deaths in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and a Santa Fe, Texas, shooting where a gunman killed 10 people.

The group of students are also the organizers behind Albuquerque’s March for Our Lives, a protest and rally that was part of a nationwide movement calling for school safety reform. Wednesday’s protest was a contrast to the thousands of marchers who attended March for Our Lives in Old Town.