‘Traumatizing’: Sandy Hook survivor at NCSU joins anti-gun violence protest in wake of UNC lockdowns

RALEIGH (WTVD) — Some students across the state of North Carolina walked out of class at noon on Friday in an organized protest against gun violence.

The group behind the protest is called Students Demand Action.

The group cited two lockdowns in two weeks at the University of North Carolina as the tipping point that resulted in this protest.

“We should not have to be afraid of gun violence on our campuses and in our communities and whether a bullet will shatter our futures and fracture our communities,” the group said in a statement about the protests.

Students at NC State said the lockdowns at UNC Chapel Hill hit close to home. Many NC State students know people at the UNC campus and were scared for them when the lockdowns happened.

These are also students who have had to live in fear of guns in schools most of their lives.

“I’ve had professors say, ‘If something happens, this door can open from outside. We can block this,’” said Joey Thomas, an NC State freshman.

“This has been our lives for years and so we know a lot about this,” said NC State student Amelia Wilmoth.

For her, the last two lockdowns at UNC sparked her to want to push back.

“I was just very angry and upset, and I just knew that enough is enough, and we needed to do something to cause some change,” Wilmoth said. Wilmoth founded the NC State chapter of Students Demand Action.