Children dressed in army fatigues, bulletproof vests, and T-shirts splattered with fake blood walked in an "ironic fashion show" outside Boston's City Hall in protest of the gun violence plaguing schools across the country

The kids, ranging in age from 4 to 19, walked the catwalk stone-faced as a DJ blasted "Born to Be Alive" and "This Is America" into City Hall Plaza.

With the dramatic, artistic protests, organizers said they want to capture the attention of voters, legislators, reporters, and the gun lobby.

"You only have two options here gun lobby," said Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son died in the Parkland school shooting. "This train is not going to stop. You've got to work or you move to the side."

The fashion show was organized by Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. With their non-profit Change the Ref, Manuel and Patricia Oliver hope to "give the young generation of survivors and victims a disrupting voice to help lead the way to change."

The protest followed last weekend's 50-mile March from Worcester to Smith & Wesson in Springfield. Students from across the state banded together to call for an end to gun violence.

"We don't want a bulletproof vest to be on our parents' checklist," Kiara Dejesus, a 17-year-old student at Lawrence High School, said. "It shouldn't be necessary."

Jack Torres, 16, said he began organizing walkouts at Somerville High School to protest gun violence in his sophomore year. He walked in the fashion show, modeling a vest that said: "Don't Shoot."

"It's scary," he said. "At any moment our school can become the next one that's on the front page."

Manuel Oliver warned anyone listening that continued violence is inevitable unless candidates who believe in his cause are elected.

"We were letting [politicians] know we knew it was going to happen again. And they didn't listen," Manuel Oliver said. "And I'm going to say it again it will happen again. It will happen maybe today. It could happen right now. This is an issue where we live."

During the fashion show, an announcer described each child's outfit to the crowd. A photo of 17-year-old Joaquin Oliver was the backdrop for the eery performance.

"Caution," the announcer said as a young woman with police tape across her body walked on stage. "I'm just a young lady trying to get my education sitting in school wondering...is my school next?"

Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley led some of the younger kids on stage and spoke to about 30 people who had stopped to watch the show.

"This fashion show here today it's made folks uncomfortable and that's a good thing. To use art as a tool and a vehicle for a change. To lift up youth voice...and to uplift the voices of survivors," Pressly, who is running for Congress, said.

Many speakers, including, Monica Cannon-Grant, an activist and the founder of Violence in Boston, noted that Massachusetts has "some of the strongest gun legislation in the country."

This is not stopping young people in communities of color from accessing illegal firearms, she said.

"Where are the guns coming from?" Cannon-Grant asked. "That's the conversation we need to have. It is the states around us that don't have the same legislation, which is causing guns to be funneled into communities of color by the bucket load."

There have been 30 fatal shootings in Boston this year, according to Boston Police data.

Hannah Witherby, a 15-year-old student at Natick High School who walked in the fashion show, said the outfits didn't seem far-fetched.

"There are selling bulletproof backpacks," she said. "It's said, but it has come to this."