This post has been updated with additional information from students.

ANN ARBOR, MI - High school students across Ann Arbor walked out of classes the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 21, to protest gun violence in schools.

The walkouts were relatively brief, lasting between 17 minutes - in memory of the 17 people killed in the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida - and 30 minutes. The students then returned to their classes.

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Bree Linton, 17, a senior at Community High School who participated in the walkout there, said she sympathized with the grief of the Florida victims' family and friends.

"We had a lot of death in Ann Arbor last year, students-wise. ... Each one of those lives affected the entirety of Ann Arbor," Linton said. "I can't imagine 17 in a few hours, all from one kid."

Linton said she generally feels safe going to school, but "you never know," she said.

Izzy Yates, 15, organized the walkout at Pathways to Success, an alternative high school in Ann Arbor. She was joined by about a dozen students to take a stand against gun violence.

"School shootings have always been something that really bothered me because it's stupid," Yates said. "It could have been our school, and I just don't want that to happen."

Yates said she would like to see gun control laws passed to make it more difficult to get a gun, including more rigorous background checks and mental health screenings for prospective gun owners.

Pioneer High School junior Gabriel Gurule, 17, said he joined the walkout to show that students care about gun control.

"We as high schoolers, just because many of us cannot vote does not mean we do not have a voice," Gurule said. "We hope to see change."

Social media posts show students at all five of Ann Arbor Public Schools' high schools participated in Wednesday's walkout.

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Related: See Huron High School student news site's coverage of the walkout

Pathways students getting involved! This group staged a walk-out today and are making plans to participate on March 14 and April 20. #proudteacher #NationalSchoolWalkout pic.twitter.com/gE7Nb2OTVp — Kristal J (@kjaaskel12) February 21, 2018