Minutes of silence and tears

Rebecca Boone

Chin high and tears streaming, Florida school shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez stood silent in front of thousands gathered for the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, DC.

She continued to stand silently as a few crowd members shouted out support. She remained silent as tentative chants broke out. Her silence continued as those attending also fell quiet, many weeping.

The gripping moment stretched for six minutes and 20 seconds, the amount of time Gonzalez said it took a shooter to kill 17 people and wound 15 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

“Six minutes and 20 seconds with an AR-15 and my friend Carmen (Schentrup) would never complain to me about piano practice,” she said, her voice strong but her throat momentarily catching. “Aaron Feis would never call Kyra ‘Miss Sunshine.’ Alex Schachter would never walk into school with his brother Ryan.” Gonzalez went on, listing name after name of those killed on February 14.

And then she stopped, her breath heaving but remaining composed, looking straight ahead and silent. Some appeared to catch her intent right away, watching with hands covering mouths, foreheads wrinkled and tears falling. The silence spread to the thousands thronging Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job,” Gonzalez said. As the threehour rally wrapped up, she assigned some homework for the demonstrators: “One final plug. Get out there and vote.”