Heritage High students: 'We're fighting for our own safety'

Participants in Friday's student walkout at Heritage High School included (from left) Gwyneth Lutovsky, Raina McRitchie, Alycea Oglesby and Nielah Navarro. Photo provided by Jordan De La Fuente

A group of about 50 Heritage High School students took part in a walkout for nearly an hour Friday as part of a national movement in protest of gun violence.

The demonstration -- part of the second national school walkout since the fatal shooting of 17 students at Parkland High School in Florida on Feb. 14 -- was peacefully held in the school quad during second period. Heritage principal Frank Arce and Perris Union High School District officials were aware of the planned demonstration and no disciplinary measures were taken.

"The number was significantly less than the last walkout, but these people were much more respectful and ardent about the matter," said Jordan De La Fuente, one of the event organizers along with Raina McRitchie, Stevie Bittle and Hannah Medrano. "We stood in a half circle while kids went up in front of us and gave their speeches.

"The only real 'trouble' we encountered was a group of kids shouting 'Guns don't kill', but they dispersed in a matter of a few minutes and we weren't bothered at all afterward."

One of several students who spoke was McRitchie, who said it was important not only to recognize the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, but for students to continue pressuring elected officials to enact stricter gun laws.

"This is a movement that I'm personally passionate about, and my friends and I - including Jordan, and there's Hannah and Stevie - we met with the principal to make sure this was organized in a way that you guys wouldn't face consequences for fighting for something that you believe in, and for fighting for your own safety at a place where you have the right to be safe at all times," McRitchie said.

"Thank you for coming out here and for showing that you care, and that you're serious about something that is an actual problem. There are things happening at schools where students don't come out alive, or they come out injured or traumatized, or they lose their friends. And today is the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, and moments like that are why we're here."

Officials at Paloma Valley High School and Santa Rosa Academy reported that no student walkouts took place on those campuses.

Here are video highlights of speeches given by Heritage High School students as provided by De La Fuente: