Students walk out of Colorado school shooting vigil after politicians' speeches

Students and other attendees walk out of a community vigil in protest of politics and the media
AP

Students walked out in protest when two politicians spoke to the crowd at a vigil for victims of a mass shooting at a Colorado high school.

Kendrick Castillo, 18, was killed trying to lunge at the shooters to protect others while eight other people were injured when the gunmen opened fire at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math School in Highland Rance on Tuesday.

Two teenage suspects appeared in court in Douglas County the next day after being arrested in connection with the shooting.

Also on Wednesday, about 2,000 people packed the high school gym for a vigil as the community gathered to commemorate victims as well as recognise teenagers who bravely intervened to prevent further bloodshed.

Attendees illuminate their mobile phones during a community vigil to honor the victims and survivors of the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting.
AP

However, when Senator Michael Bennet, a Democratic presidential hopeful, and Congressman Jason Crow, spoke to the crowd on Wednesday, several hundred students began a spontaneous protest against politics and the media.

Members of the audience began to express frustration that the event was not solely focussed on remembering the victims before leaving the event.

They chanted “mental health” and “Let STEM kids speak” before denouncing the media, the Denver Post reported.

Students later re-entered the event and expressed their frustration to the media and politicians.

Colorado school shooting - In pictures

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During his speech, Sen. Bennet, the former superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, said: "I know our kids already have enough to do, they have a job to do when they come to school, you have a job to do when you come to school.

"Their job is not to fix America's broken gun laws.

"Their job is not, as Kendrick so selflessly did yesterday, to give up their own life to save their classmates lives. Or the teachers' lives. That's not their job."

Sen. Michael Bennet greets vigil attendees in Highlands Ranch.
AP

The high school shooting is the fourth in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre 20 years ago where 13 people were killed.

Mr Castillo’s protective actions bore similarities with another recent school shooting in the US, in which a student was killed after he challenged a gunman in his classroom.

Students leaving during the community vigil in protest
AP

Rile Howell, 21, was killed during a school shooting at North Carolina at Charlotte last week.

School officials sent out an emergency alert with a mantra spread by US law enforcement: “Run, hide, fight.”

The three-pronged approach has been endorsed by the US Department of Homeland Security since at least 2012 as part of a public safety campaign, and has been adopted by many workplaces and college.

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