Stoneman Douglas massacre survivor: 'We will not stop fighting'

"He had bullets that could go on forever.”

Melissa Camilo's voice shakes as she recalls the gunshots and horror that unfolded on Valentine's Day at her school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.

"How many more tragedies are going to have to occur for us to make a difference, to make a change," Melissa pleaded, her expression stern. "How many more 15-year-olds, how many more teachers have to die?"

Tuesday, the 15-year-old freshman was one of dozens of students from the school, still reeling from the deaths of their friends, who ventured to the Capitol to demand legislators enact stricter gun laws.

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The past seven days have been a whirlwind. Tragedy has turned a grieving Melissa and her schoolmates into activists on a quest demanding change.

When they arrived in Tallahassee Monday night, she quietly wept as two friends held her during a candlelight vigil to remember the 17 lives lost in Parkland.

Two of those were Melissa's close friend, Peter Wang, and her teacher, Scott Beigel. Both sacrificed their lives trying to protect others from getting shot by gunman Nikolas Cruz.

"My friend is dead because they're not doing their job," Melissa said emphatically after she and other Broward County students met with a state senator to make their voices heard.

It was a normal day, Melissa recounts. Teachers handed out lollipops. Students shared Valentine's Day cards. But then, they heard gunshots. It didn't feel real until police knocked down the classroom door. She and the other survivors had to step over bodies, had to try to avert their eyes from the blood stains on the walls.

Earlier that day, Melissa sat with Peter during lunch, as she always did. She loved his company. He always made her laugh. If a classmate forgot their lunch or money, he'd often share or even pay for them.

"He really cared about others," she said. "He was just irreplaceable."

That morning, Melissa listened to Mr. Beigel teach on the topic of world religions. He was always jovial, she remembered. "There was never a dull moment in his class," she said.

But hours later, Peter and Mr. Beigel were dead.

It's for them that she came to press legislators.

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“This could have all been prevented if people were doing their jobs," she said. "And the fact that us children have to start acting like the adults and start doing the jobs of the adults, it’s really sad that we have to take action when these people have studied all their life to do a job that they’re not doing."

Melissa posed the question of age and gun possession to Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, a Republican from Southwest Florida.

"An 18-year-old kid can purchase an assault rifle, but a young 24-year-old businessman can't rent a car," Melissa said. "An 18-year-old kid purchased an assault rifle with mental issues previous police records and FBI warnings... Do you believe that you are doing your job in preventing these things from happening?"

Passidomo slowly chose her words as she replied.

"I don't think there's anyone that would dispute that someone has a mental illness or mental health issues should be able to purchase any gun," Passidomo said.

Spencer Blum, a 16-year-old junior who is also a survivor of the shooting, expressed his frustration at the House's vote against a motion to debate an assault weapons ban. The proposal by Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando failed, 36 to 71.

"I was speechless. I had anger, dismay, shock, to be honest," Spencer said. "They had even introduced us, they knew we were up there. The beautiful choir sang a prayer for us. They knew we just went through a mass shooting that killed 17 people.

"It would be very interesting to see who voted what way."

Three weeks are left of this year's legislative session for legislators to enact new gun laws. Wednesday, thousands are expected at the Capitol for a noon rally dubbed #NeverAgain.

"We will not stop fighting," Melissa said. "We will just fight forever for them (victims). We will do everything in their honor and their legacy will just go on forever.

Reach Nada Hassanein at nhassanein@tallahassee or on Twitter @nhassanein_.