‘ We are the victims, we are change’

In the aftermath of the Florida high school shooting, students are campaigning to end gun violence. We speak to Lane Murdock ( left), one of the teenage activists leading the movement

Lane Murdock was in the middle of an ordinary school day when she learned of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day. The tragedy, which left 17 pupils and teachers dead, was announced over the tannoy at her school in Connecticut. ‘It felt normal,’ says the 15-year-old. ‘ That’s not OK. We shouldn’t hear that news and just think, “Oh, another one.” Those are people’s lives, emotions, family and friends.’ Despite her young age, Lane decided she needed to take action. She began an online petition calling for a national school walkout, and for gun legislation, with the slogan: ‘ We are the students, we are the victims, we are change.’ Within days, the petition and the Twitter account @schoolwalkoutus had attracted more than 100,000 supporters.

For Lane, the shooting had a particular resonance. ‘I grew up near Sandy Hook Elementary School. I was 10 when the shooting happened.’ It was there, less than six years ago, that 20 children were gunned down, none more than seven years old.

‘I’ve been surrounded by the idea of school shootings since I started school,’ she says. ‘ We are a small town and everyone knows everyone. I was very lucky – I didn’t lose any close friends or family members, but I have friends who lost people. When something like that happens when you’re so young, it imprints on you.’

Lane, along with three fellow pupils at Ridgefield High School, is now at the centre of a swelling movement among students demanding gun controls be put in place to protect them from shootings. Using social media to galvanise support, they are hitting back at politicians, including Donald Trump, who was widely criticised for telling survivors and victims’ families he’d invited to the White House that the solution was to arm teachers.

Lane says, ‘ These things happen in our schools, but we have no voice. I wanted to find a way to give us that representation. To see kids walking out of schools will be so impactful. Then they can do sit-ins surrounding their schools, holding hands, having an open mic, letting people speak.’

The walkout is planned for 20 April, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting in 1999, when two students killed 15 of their classmates. ‘ The date is really important to us,’ Lane says. ‘Even after all that time, nothing has changed since then. I think that will be a beautiful reminder to everyone.’

For Lane, as for every American teenager, drills and fear of attacks have always been a part of life. ‘ When I was in elementary school, there was no immediate distinction between drills and a real attack,’ she says. ‘Now I’ve gotten older I’ve become a lot more numb to it. But this movement has helped me get rid of my numbness. I feel emotion coming back.’

In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, Alex Wind, who was forced to huddle in darkness for over an hour as shots rang out, founded the Never Again campaign with fellow survivors. After their

march last week in Washington, the group will hold a larger demonstration called March For Our Lives on 24 March. Last week, George and Amal Clooney donated $500,000 to the cause, a sum then matched by Oprah Winfrey, who praised ‘these inspiring young people’.

Lane’s movement is allied with March For Our Lives and the Women’s March Youth, who are also staging a walkout on 14 March. Lane says the Florida shooting ‘will define my teenage years. I’m 15 like some of the victims so there is a big sense of relatability. I have a huge amount of respect and love for these kids who are speaking out and standing up. What they’re doing is so powerful. I’ve reached out to a few of the victims but I know that funerals begin this week, so I want to let them mourn in peace.’ Lane has asked students walking out in April to wear orange. ‘Orange is the colour of hunters’ jackets. It means “don’t shoot”,’ she says.