Chapel Hill and Hillside HS students walk out of school in support of Uvalde victims

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Students at Chapel Hill High School are part of a nationwide cry against gun violence. The student-led movement happened in the courtyard of the school. The students are calling on North Carolina lawmakers to do something as families in Uvalde, Texas, grieve the loss of loved ones.

"If they don't do something soon, they should know there are a lot of kids who are turning 18 soon who will vote," said Grace Davis, a senior student at Chapel Hill High School.

Davis organized this demonstration with students holding hand-made signs. They walked out of the classroom for 21 minutes representing the 21 victims killed at the Texas elementary school. Students lay down in the courtyard to represent the bodies of victims of mass shootings.

"It's just really, really sad and just hard to believe when you look around our school and drive past elementary schools around here it could be one of those kids," said Davis.

Katie Jenifer is Davis' mother. Through the years, she's taught her children to be advocates for change as students across the country participate in a national walkout organized by Students Demand Action.

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"Grace wants to lend her voice and elevate the voices of other students all over the country who are just at the end of their rope," said Jenifer. "This step in activism is just her living out that truth of hers. She's always thinking of others and wanting to make a difference."

At Durham's Hillside High School, students there also walked out.

This marks the first demonstration Davis has organized, but not the last as she looks ahead to a new era in state politics.

"Older congressmen are shutting down our bills when we're the ones who need them and they really don't understand," said Davis.