Thousands of US students join National Walkout Day to demand action on gun control

Washington DC: Thousands of students across the United States (US) walked out of their schools on Wednesday to call for action against gun violence precisely one month post the Florida shooting which claimed 17 lives.

Students from more than 3,000 schools took to the streets from Washington to Los Angeles and from New York to Parkland, reported the Independent.

Organized by Empower, the youth arm of the Women's March movement, the walkouts are the latest show of activism by young people who are now wading into the gun-control debate.

Student speakers boomed outrage and grief for a problem that has a growing body count - both in and out of schools.

According to the reports, students clutched signs that read "I should be writing my college essay, not my will." Others read "Enough is enough."

Celebrities on Twitter expressed their support for the demonstrations, including Chris Evans, Miley Cyrus, Zendaya, and Kerry Washington.

Some students went to the White House and sat on the closed-off portion of Pennsylvania Avenue for a 17-minute moment of silence. They sat on the street with their backs to the executive mansion.