Emma Gonzalez leads protesters in silence at March For Our Lives

Emma Gonzalez leads protesters in silence at March For Our Lives



Emma Gonzalez, who survived the school shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, stood silent on stage for long periods during her powerful speech at the Washington, DC March For Our Lives.



She addressed the massive crowd for six minutes and 20 seconds - the time it took Nikolas Cruz, 19, to k*ll 17 or her classmates and injure 15 others with an AR-15 that he had obtained legally during the massacre on February 14 in Parkland, Florida.



Gonzalez took the crowd by surprise with her uncomfortable silence, prompting the crowd to cheer support and chant 'Never again,' as it seemed they thought she had lost her words due to emotion. Then a time went off, and she spoke.



'Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his r*fle, blend in with the students as they escape, and walk free for an hour before arrest,' she said when she began to speak again.



'Fight for your lives before it's someone else's job,' she said, ending her time of silence.



She captivated the crowd of half a million protesters in Washington, DC for the March For Our Lives movement in the powerful statement.



Gonzalez, who has been an outspoken voice among the Parkland survivors, used the minutes of silence to punctuate an an already moving speech.



'Six minutes and 20 seconds... In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken, 15 were injured and everyone, absolutely everyone, in the Douglas community was forever altered,' she said.



'Everyone who was there understands. who has been touched by the cold grip of g*n violence understands. For us, long, tearful chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing.



'No one understood the extent of what had happened. No one could believe that there were bodies in that building waiting to be identified for over a day.



'No one knew that the people who were missing had stopped breathing long before any of us even knew that a code red had been called. No one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach or where this would go.'



She went on to honor some of the lives lost on that day, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.



For those who still can't comprehend, because they refuse to, I will tell you where it went,' she said. 'Right into the ground, six feet deep.'



'Six minutes and 20 seconds with an AR-15, and my friend Carmen [Schentrup] would never complain to me about piano practice. Aaron Feis would never call [Kiera] "Miss Sunshine."  Alex Schachter would never walk into school with his brother, Ryan. Scott Beigel would never joke around with Cameron at camp. Helena Ramsay would never hang out after school with Max. Gina Montalto would never wave to her friend, Liam, at lunch. Joaquin Oliver would never play basketball with Sam or Dylan,' she said.





She went on: 'Alaina Petty would never. Cara Loughran would never. Chris Hixon would never. Luke Hoyer would never. Martin Duque Anguiano would never. Peter Wang would never. Alyssa Alhadeff would never. Jamie Guttenberg would never. Meadow Pollack would never.'



Her personal memories of the students who died that day filled the air and hung heavy.



It was the Parkland school shooting massacre that happened on Valentine's Day in Florida that has ignited the current nationwide debate on g*n control.



Yet another school shooting took the life of a 16-year-old girl in Maryland on Thursday.



The March For Our Lives demonstrations seek to call attention to the need for common sense g*n reform that prevents tragic like this from happening.



More than 800 demonstrations kicked off across the country on Saturday.



Cruz remains in custody in Florida, charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder