SEATTLE — Less than a week after a deadly school shooting, students at Ingraham High School in north Seattle returned to the classroom Monday. However, many of them walked out to speak out against gun violence.
"Being back on school campus is just heartbreaking, and it's scary too," said Raelyn Butler, a junior at Ingraham.
What used to feel like a second home to Butler now feels like the last place she wants to be.
"It's horrible that we can't just be children and can't just be focused on our school lives because this tragedy has become so interwoven with our school lives," Butler said.
Butler wasn't at school the day the shooting took place. However, she recalls getting several text messages from her friends who heard the gunshots.
"My throat closed, and I felt helpless, and I couldn't speak, and I was just sobbing," Butler said.
In response to last week's shooting, the youth organization "Seattle Student Union" planned a district-wide walk-out Monday morning, similar to the 2018 walkout after the Parkland shooting.
During Monday’s walkout, students made their way to city hall to stand in solidarity with Ingraham High School and to speak out against gun violence.
"I know it's not just Ingraham High School. We have lots of high schools doing this and I think that united force is really important," Butler said.
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