Sixteen-year-old Mya Middleton shared her first-hand experience with gun violence at the March For Our Lives rally on Saturday.
"I’m here because I’ve been personally affected by the lack of gun control and I believe guns have taken over the minds of individuals who want an easy way out of their dilemma," Middleton said.
Middleton spoke about how Chicagoans see gun violence every day and you "don’t realize how much of a toll it’s taking on our cities until you see it in our communities, you see it on kids you know, you see it on someone like me."
During, her freshman year of high school she went to the store to grab a few things for her mom who was sick.
A man, who was in the line in front of her, got upset because he didn't have enough money to pay for the things he wanted.
After trashing the store and shoving food into his clothes, the man turned to Mya.
"I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t think," she recalled. "All I remember is seeing dark jeans coming towards me."
The man pulled out a silver pistol and pointed it at her face.
"And said these words that to this day haunt me and give me nightmares," Mya said. "He said if you say anything I will find you – and yet I’m still saying something today."
Mya continued her speech saying that guns have "corrupted our adults" and "silenced our government."
"Guns have become the voice of America, and the government is becoming more negligent by this predicament by the day," Mya added.
"Join me in sharing my pain and my anger. Help us by screaming to the government that we are tired of crying for help to a group of people that have turned their backs on us – despite their reassurance to make our country safer," she added.
Watch the full speech here:
