SAINT PAUL, MN — Three weeks after 17 people were killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, students across the Twin Cities marched in Saint Paul Wednesday to demonstrate against gun violence. Demonstrators from schools across the metro met at Central High School and walked more than 20 city blocks down Marshall Avenue to the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol.

Saint Paul police escorted marchers the entire route.

Students then rallied at Leif Erickson Park and heard from lawmakers supporting gun control legislation in the Minnesota House and Senate. The names of the victims of the mass shooting in Parkland were read aloud and a moment of silence was held.

Toya Downey, a spokesperson for Central High School, told Patch on Tuesday that it was hard to predict how many students would participate. "This is a student-organized and student-driven effort," Downey said. "It is for all Minnesota students, but the organizer cited Central because of it's proximity to the State Capitol. So, we won't know until (Wednesday)."

Photo by William Bornhoft/Patch.com Sarah Munson, one of the organizers of the march and a student at Cretin-Derham Hall — a private Catholic school in Saint Paul — told Patch she believes at least 15 different schools were represented at the demonstration Wednesday.

Munson said students across the nation are demanding action from lawmakers because they feel they "can't be safe at school" anymore.

Students cheered and chanted throughout the march, shouting "this is what democracy looks like," "hey hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go," "end gun violence," and "no justice, no peace, stop executing our teens."



Watch video of the entire march in Saint Paul below: