LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Some students at the William E. Orr Middle School walked out of their classrooms Wednesday to protest gun violence.
A person identifying as a substitute teacher sent 8 News Now video showing dozens of students leaving the school at 1562 E. Katie Ave., with one student holding a sign that reads, “Books not bullets.”
The walkout does not appear to be related to a stabbing earlier Wednesday at the intersection of Katie Avenue and Maryland Parkway, about a half-mile from the school. At about 9 a.m., Las Vegas Metropolitan Police found a man lying on the sidewalk at the intersection, and medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
In a statement on the walkout, the Clark County School District said it “encourages students to be active participants in democracy. The District supports all students who are willing to take the time to research important issues and express their opinions civilly and peacefully.”
The district also said in the statement that to ensure a safe campus and for the safety of students Nevada law requires it must report when a student does not attend class or walks out of school “as unexcused unless their parent or guardian excused them from school attendance for the day.”
