FAIRFAX, Va. — Local high school students and local gun violence prevention organizations are holding a candlelight vigil outside NRA headquarters in Fairfax following two mass shootings in the U.S. over the weekend.
Some people held signs that spelled out "GUN REFORM NOW."
Over the weekend, a gunman killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio while another shot and killed 22 at a Walmart in El Paso, Tex.
In total, the death toll was 31 people as of Monday night. The attacks 1,300 miles apart raised questions about where to lay the blame and what can be done to prevent future violence.
"Total sadness, I cried. I can't even imagine if it was my child, or my mother in any of these situations," Sandy, a retired teacher from Annapolis, said.
Students there explained they were scared.
"Like as me, I feel scared," Ariel, a ninth grader said. "I feel scared."
They said they know in their hearts, this weekend's shootings will not be the least.
"My biggest concern is just making sure that these tragedies don't end with a continuance of these cycles that we're in," Jessica, a tenth grader from Falls Church explained.
Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) spoke at the rally outside the headquarters.
"I've had enough," she said, as the crowd started chanting "enough" back to her.
"We need to honor those who have died, we need to make sure that their deaths were not in vain," she said. "We cannot give up, we cannot relent, we cannot get exhausted by this...because we are stronger than the gun lobby and we will prevail."
