Hundreds of Alexandria City High School students held a walkout on Friday, Sept. 5, demonstrating against gun violence in schools.
The walkout at ACHS’s King Street and Minnie Howard campuses started at 11:30 a.m., and lasted for less than a half hour. The demonstrations are part of a national walkout, were organized by Titans Demand Action and held on school grounds. Media was not permitted to observe, except from the public sidewalk. Students held signs, threw water bottles and chanted, “End the violence!”
The walkout follows the Aug. 27 shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church and school that killed two children and injured 21 other people. The shooter killed themself after the incident.
“We are doing it to honor the 31 students who have lost their lives to school shootings in 2025 and demand that lawmakers take action,” an organizer told ALXnow via email, citing data from Everytown for Gun Safety.
ACHS students are allowed to participate in two walkouts per school year and will face no disciplinary action, according to ACPS.
In Nov. 2023, ACHS students also staged a walkout and called on a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war.
