Riverview Gardens High Students Stage Walkout, Call For Gun Laws

ST. LOUIS, MO — More than 200 students at Riverview Gardens High School in the north county walked out of class Tuesday morning to protest easy access to guns, including assault weapons like the AR-15 used in the Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

In recent weeks, students across the country have held walkouts to protest gun violence and call for laws enacting stricter background checks and banning semi-automatic rifles, among other measures. Riverview Gardens students also said they feel unsafe in their school and called for additional security measures on campus.

School officials told students at the high school they could be suspended for leaving campus this morning, citing safety concerns, but those same officials initially blocked students' return to campus, going so far as to tell students they would be prevented from riding school buses home.

The irony of stranding students off campus with no way to get home due to safety concerns seems to have dawned on school officials, who reversed their decision. As of 2 p.m., a school official told Patch that students were being allowed back on campus and would be able to ride buses home.

Leata Price-Land, a spokesperson for the district, said students had been permitted to participate in the protest, but were asked to remain on campus for their own safety. She estimated that more than 200 students participated in the protest and were allowed back in class without incident, while 40 to 50 students chose to protest off campus.

Price-Land said the administration is currently in meetings to determine what disciplinary measures, if any, will be taken against the students who left campus. Students will be informed of the administration's decision within the next few hours, she said.

"We respect the rights of students to engage in free speech activities, and we appreciated that the majority of the students who participated in the activities today remained on campus and they did return to class peacefully," Price-Land said. "We just wanted them to be safe on campus."