SAVANNAH, Ga. () — More than 100 Savannah Arts Academy students walked out of class Friday and gathered at Tiedemann Park to protest gun violence.

The demonstration was organized by Students Demand Action in response to the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, which left two children dead and 17 others injured.

“We’re protesting legislative inaction in response to the school shooting and gun violence epidemic in our country. We really feel that our lawmakers are not doing enough in response to these horrible tragedies that continue to occur over and over again. And we’re here making a stand as students who are directly affected by the issue,” said Zoe Wagner, president of the Savannah Arts chapter of Students Demand Action.

Wagner said daily safety routines are a constant reminder of the issue.

“We go through metal detectors every morning, which is a reminder of the problem that we have in this country. Luckily, we’ve never had a shooting at Savannah Arts, but we are like every other school in this country. We go through the metal detectors, we do the lockdown drills, and it’s just a reminder that the problem exists,” she said.

Wagner also pointed to research that shows firearm injuries are the leading cause of death among teens.

“I think that it’s so important that our age group participate in this type of protest and this type of advocacy because there’s a huge disconnection between our lawmakers and their constituents, but specifically their young constituents. They need to hear directly from us because this issue caused us to be fearful in our schools and our places that are supposed to be educational. And that’s unacceptable,” Wagner said.

Vice President of the Savannah Arts chapter, Maya Krisniski, said the turnout was bigger than expected.

“I feel so empowered and honestly, just like this is crazy because I just didn’t expect so many people to be so passionate about it. I feel very excited and very passionate that so many people care,” Krisniski said.

The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System said while the walkout was not a school-sponsored event, the district supports students’ rights to protest and remains focused on keeping them safe.