Students at Little Rock's Central High School participate in a walkout Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in solitary with victims of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting last month. ( Brandon Riddle

Hundreds of students Wednesday participated in a walkout at Little Rock’s Central High School, demanding that action be taken against gun violence after a deadly Florida school shooting last month.

The demonstration, part of a larger nationwide event, came a month after 17 people — 14 students and three staff members— were fatally shot Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

By 9:55 a.m., students had positioned themselves in front of Central High School’s fountain in protest. Peaceful chants broke out soon after, some of which included “books not bullets” and “enough is enough.”

Click here for larger versions

Photos by Brandon Riddle

One of those students, student body president Erin Farmer, called upon her classmates to stand with Parkland and find solutions to gun violence and make schools safer.

“We should not have to take classes on how to dodge bullets. We are kids. We are supposed to come here and learn,” Farmer, a senior, said.

Several of the students hoisted up signs as they stood near the steps of the historic school, each with a message in solidarity of Parkland students.

At the end of the walkout, white balloons were released in honor of each of the Parkland shooting victims.

Students, at the signal of a bell and loud-speaker announcement, walked back into the school within 30 minutes and resumed classes.

In a letter, Little Rock School District Superintendent Michael Poore called the demonstrations, so long as they are appropriately supervised, “an important opportunity to educate our students about the democratic process in action and the right to peacefully demonstrate differing views.”

District spokeswoman Pamela Smith said students from other schools were also allowed to participate in the nationwide walkout event.

Read Thursday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.