Colorado Students Walk Out After Evergreen High School Shooting
Just two days after the tragic shooting at Evergreen High School, students across Jefferson County walked out of their classrooms to demand action against gun violence.
On Friday morning, Wheat Ridge High School students gathered outside, lining the campus with handmade signs reading “No more silence, end gun violence,” “Protect kids not guns,” and “There’s 1 thing a gun is built to do.” Others held scripture quotes as they stood in solidarity with Evergreen students still reeling from the attack.
The protest followed a similar walkout at Arvada West the day before, with students from Lakewood High School, Jefferson High School, and Standley Lake High School also joining the movement. Together, their message was clear: enough is enough.
The demonstrations came in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting, when 16-year-old Desmond Holly opened fire inside Evergreen High before turning the gun on himself. School lockdown procedures likely prevented greater tragedy, but two students were critically injured. As of Friday, one victim’s condition had been downgraded to serious, while the other remains critical. Video from inside the school captured the chaos — students hiding behind locked doors as Holly pretended to be a police officer while trying to lure them out, while others sprinted into nearby neighborhoods for safety.
According to Everytown Research & Policy, there have been at least 100 incidents of gunfire on school grounds across the U.S. so far this year, leading to 32 deaths and nearly 100 injuries. Students say those numbers demand urgent change.
“We’re sick of the status quo,” said Wheat Ridge senior Jackson Bowen. “Regardless of what anyone thinks the solution is, we need one. Now. Everyone deserves to feel safe in schools, in churches, in malls — everywhere.”
Chanting “enough is enough,” the group marched to the corner of Kipling Street and West 32nd Avenue, where passing drivers honked in support. For many of the teens, Friday’s protest wasn’t just about grieving — it was about forcing a conversation with lawmakers and communities to make sure tragedies like Evergreen never happen again.
