STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Blaine County Amnesty International will hold a walk-in at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, May 24, marking the anniversary of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Students will gather outside of the Wood River High School’s main entrance as they introduce their memorial and community-based solutions. School Resource Officer Morgan Ballis will offer a few thoughts about targeted violence and prevention methods.

A moment of silence will be held and students will then walk in to the Wood River High School courtyard. The memorial wilk will include statistics about school shoots, suggestions for intervention and prevention and ribbons to represent victims.

“Our goal is to honor the victims of school shootings in the United States and educate our community about the actions our community can take to prevent targeted school violence by securing firearms and maintaining firearm accountability,” said Maeve Coffelt, a member of Amnesty International.

Nineteen children and two school teachers died in the Uvalde shooting. There have been at least 45 active shooter events in Pre-K-12 schools resulting in the deaths of 125 staff and students since 2000, according to the FBI. More than 150 children and school staff have been wounded.

“We want to live in an America where we feel safe at school,” members of the Blaine County chapter of Amnesty International said in a prepared statement written by Coffelt and Jasmine Santacruz. “We want a future. Research indicates more than 80% of firearms used in school active shooter events are taken from their own home, the home of another family member or the home of a friend. We want to educate the community on the actions our community can take to prevent targeted school violence by securing firearms and maintaining firearm accountability.”