Gunman opens fire at school on day when students walk out of classes in protest at gun violence
A former pupil of a Florida high school shot and wounded a classmate on Friday just as students across the United States staged a walkout in protest at the country’s gun violence.
The Sheriff’s Office for Marion County said a 19-year-old suspect had been taken into custody at Forest High School in Ocala, Florida, where a 17-year-old student had been injured.
Billy Woods, the sheriff, said officers were still trying to identify a motive.
"It's a shame what society has come to in that we even have to be here on a school campus," he said.
"Society has changed since I was in school… We as a whole need to do something."
The shooting was reported a little before 9am on a day meant to mark the anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, when 13 people died.
So proud of the #NationalSchoolWalkout and all of the students around the country who are standing up for positive change and demanding what we deserve. Keep marching forward and NEVER settle for less.
— Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) April 20, 2018
It was organised by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were shot dead by a former pupil in February.
They have launched a nationwide campaign to tighten gun control, leading to boycotts of companies that are connected to arms manufacturers.
Some 2,600 schools were expected to take part.
Carlos Rodriguez, a 17-year-old from Marjory Stoneman, travelled to Columbine for the anniversary and said he found a sense of solidarity in the outpouring of support.
"That's the only thing that's keeping us Douglas students alive right now: the distraction of fighting for our rights and advocating for our lives," he told Reuters.
Protesters also gathered outside the White House carrying "Enough Is Enough" and "Books Not Bullets" banners. They chanted "We will vote" as they marched.
"A lot of people from my school came to show our support for increasing safety at schools and for better gun control legislation," said Matt Compton, a 15-year-old at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland.
The latest polls suggest the campaign is having an impact on public opinion.
An ABC News/Washington Post survey found that 62 per cent of respondents supported a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons, up from 50 percent in mid-February and 45 per cent in late 2015.
However, students in some conservative districts reported they were warned of disciplinary action if they walked out of school.
Dudley Brown, president of the Colorado-based National Association for Gun Rights, said the gun-control movement seeks to have the government take away constitutional rights.
"The main objective of these students is to ban firearms completely, and confiscate the firearms of law-abiding Americans," he told Reuters. "We will oppose them at every step."