Students and staff at Rufus King High School walked out at 2:45 today to congregate in solidarity for those affected by the shooting that injured 5 people in the parking lot on Tuesday.
The walkout was led by students who used the opportunity to address the growing trend of gun violence in the area. Students were also joined by The Office of Violence Preventions’ Arnitta Holliman who sounded off on the issue.
“This isn’t just about Rufus King, this is about every single child in this community. This is about every single school. This about every single city block,” She said.
Milwaukee Public School Board President Bob Peterson was present at the event, standing in unity with the students as they pleaded for more resources to be divested into MPS in order to curb gun violence on campus. Specific resources include a more diverse cast of counselors. The students also implored for better communication from MPS.
“For years we have asked MPS administration to invest in school counselors; black counselors, LGBTQIA counselors, divergent counselors and women counselors,” King student, Brigid Flanders said. “…We are here to rally and to vocalize the concerns we have with our administration, locally and nationally, gathering for a call to end gun violence nationwide.”
The peaceful protest occurred a couple days after a shooting took place outside of the school Tuesday night during the girls basketball game.
A 34-year-old Milwaukee man turned himself in to Milwaukee police Friday afternoon. The suspect is believed to have fired his gun; striking five women, as students gathered to watch a physical altercation which stemmed from a social media dispute.