Students at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado stormed out of a vigil honoring their slain classmate on Wednesday evening in anger over what they saw as a “political stunt” using their tragedy to push for gun control. “We are people, not a statement,” the students shouted as they marched out of the gymnasium at the nearby Highlands Ranch High School. Hundreds of students, teachers, and activists had attended the vigil, which was billed as honoring Kendrick Castillo, a teenager fatally shot when he tried to tackle one of the shooters in a spree on Tuesday that left eight others injured at a charter school in a Denver suburb. Two students, 18 and 16, have been arrested. Advertisement The event was organized by a gun control group called the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. According to USA Today, many students appeared to have been unaware that the event was organized by an advocacy group. A half-hour in, after Sen. Michael F. Bennett and Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado spoke about gun regulations, the students became furious at what they saw as the politicization of their trauma. Advertisement Advertisement “I thought this was about us, not about politics,” one student said, according to the Washington Post. Another student argued that they were “not a statistic” and shouldn’t be cited to justify gun control: “We are people, not a statement.” The students held their phones’ flashlights into the air and chanted, “mental health, mental health.” They also confronted journalists, whom the Brady Center had invited to cover the event, calling them derogatory names, according to the Denver Post, and asking to see what photos they had taken. The Brady Center apologized for the vigil later on Wednesday. “We are here to lift up the voices of victims and survivors,” the statement said. “We are deeply sorry any part of this vigil did not provide the support, caring and sense of community we sought to foster and facilitate.” According to the Washington Post, some students returned to the gymnasium later to finish the event. “We wanted Kendrick to be mourned,” one student who addressed the crowd said. “We wanted all of you to join us in that mourning. But that was not allowed here.”<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Students from STEM School Highlands Ranch on Wednesday walked out of a vigil marking a school shooting that killed one teen the previous day, blasting politicians and the media after a senator and congressman spoke about gun control to a group of about 2,000 people. Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Jason Crow, both Democrats, talked about the need for gun control before the vigil started to break apart. WATCH: Students walk out of vigils honouring Colorado school shooting victims, says grief being politicized 0:46 Students walk out of vigils honouring Colorado school shooting victims, says grief being politicized Students walk out of vigils honouring Colorado school shooting victims, says grief being politicized – May 9, 2019 Hundreds of students walked out to the parking lot and started yelling expletives at the media. Story continues below advertisement They also started chanting “mental health,” the Denver Post reported. Students later returned to the gym and spoke at a microphone before the event concluded at 9 p.m. “They don’t get what we went through yesterday, they don’t get what it’s like to have to run for your life,” said one student captured in a video tweeted by Colorado Public Radio education reporter Jenny Brundin. Wild scene where STEM school kids walked out of Highlands Ranch, upset that the event was the politicians talking about gun control. So they took over themselves and I have their own vigil. #STEMShooting pic.twitter.com/WlIjwctnFo — Jenny Brundin (@CPRBrundin) May 9, 2019 “They don’t get what it’s like to have people yelling at you, saying ‘school shooter, run for your life.’ You do not get what it’s like to look a teacher straight in the eye and say, ‘run, run for your life. '” The vigil had been organized by students linked to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. READ MORE: 1 student dead in shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch; adult suspect identified by police Kendrick Castillo, the teen killed in the shooting, was described Wednesday as a friendly STEM student who charged the two attackers in an effort to help his classmates escape. Another teen of the same age tackled one of the attackers. WATCH: Student killed in Colorado school shooting hailed as hero for charging attacker 1:26 Student killed in Colorado school shooting hailed as hero for charging attacker Student killed in Colorado school shooting hailed as hero for charging attacker – May 8, 2019 An 18-year-old STEM student named Devon Erickson and a younger, juvenile student have been identified as suspects in the shooting. Story continues below advertisement They allegedly entered the school and discharged weapons in two classrooms. WATCH: Colorado Police confirm details in STEM School shooting 1:30 Colorado Police confirm details in STEM School shooting Colorado Police confirm details in STEM School shooting – May 8, 2019 Erickson appeared in court on Wednesday. Formal charges are expected to be filed by Friday. With files from The Associated Press<doc-sep>A vigil held Wednesday evening to recognize the victims and heroes of the shooting earlier this week at a Colorado high school turned into a political protest after some students in attendance expressed frustration with the tone and focus of the speeches. According to local news reports, a group of students walked out of the event, organized by a local chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, after hearing speeches from members of the community, including activists and elected officials like Senator Michael Bennet, a Democratic presidential candidate, and Rep. Jason Crow, who represents the district where Tuesday's shooting took place. Both Bennet and Crow were invited by the Brady Campaign to speak at the event, which took place at a nearby high school, and also attended another vigil Wednesday night at a nearby church. Speakers at the event, which honored Kendrick Castillo, the 18-year-old who was killed protecting his fellow classmates at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, also talked about the need to take action in the wake of another tragic school shooting and reform the nation's gun laws. "I know our kids already have enough to do, they have a job to do when they come to school, you have a job to do when you come to school," Bennet, the former Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, said before praising Castillo's bravery. "Their job is not to fix America's broken gun laws. Their job is not, as Kendrick so selflessly did yesterday, to give up their own life to save their classmates lives. Or the teachers' lives. That's not their job." "You sent me to Washington to speak the truth. So here it is – we are failing. We are failing when this happens over and over and over and over again and nothing happens," Crow, a gun owner and former Army Ranger elected to Congress last year, said. "You already have my thoughts and prayers, but you deserve and should demand more. Because to only send thoughts and prayers when you're a member of Congress or when you're in a position to take action and to affect change, it is empty, it is hollow, and you and your children deserve more." On Thursday, Crow spoke with ABC News' Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer about the protest, saying he supported the students' demand that they be given a chance to speak. "It was a very emotional night, which I completely understand, these are students that had just gone through a horrific tragedy...And it became apparent halfway through the event that they weren’t being given an opportunity to speak," Crow said. "So they stood up, as they should have, and demanded an opportunity to speak, and I supported that. I stayed late until every student was heard and had their opportunity to tell us how they felt about this issue and just express that emotion. So it was really important that we keep the focus on the students," he added. The tenor of the vigil seemed to shift after some in the audience began to express frustration that the event was not solely focused on remembering the heroes and victims of the shooting. "This can be an incredibly divisible or painful or awful time, or it can be a time when we come together," another speaker at the event told the packed gymnasium. After a number of speeches, one student in the audience shouted "Let STEM kids speak!" and video from the event from ABC News affiliate KMGH showed students chanting "Mental Health," as they left the event and gathered in the parking lot outside the gym. Students later re-entered the event and vented their frustration at the media and politicians. “What happened at STEM is awful, but it’s not a statistic. We can’t be used for a reason for gun control. We are people, not a statement,” one student said after the event. The Brady Campaign issued an apology Thursday afternoon, saying that all efforts should be focused on providing support to the students, faculty, and families affected by the tragic shooting. "We are here to lift up the voices of victims and survivors...We are deeply sorry any part of this vigil did not provide the support, caring and sense of community we sought to foster and facilitate and which we know is so crucial to communities who suffer the trauma of gun violence," the statement said. In the days after the shooting, Castillo, who was killed three days before graduation, has been remembered for his kindness and bravery. John Castillo, Kendrick Castillo's father, called his son's death "devastating, as you can imagine." "When I see the people that he saved, it made me happy," John Castillo said. "I knew my son wouldn’t have it any other way. But as any parent would tell you, 'It's a heck of a trade-off.'" ABC News' Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Fischer Argosino Opinion contributor Freshman year, fourth period, robotics class, 2016. Sitting across from me was a musician, once a friend, and now accused of the most recent school shooting. The shooting at my Colorado school happened long before Tuesday. My former classmate was bullied at school because of his smaller stature. He needed help. This does not serve as an excuse. I wasn't on campus at the time of the shooting, but the accused attackers deserve to bear the weight of the lives dismantled and the death of Kendrick Castillo on their shoulders. Students at STEM, like the rest of the nation, desire change, but let’s not focus on that just yet. News of a vigil to be held last Wednesday night spread on social media. We attended that vigil for the purpose of honoring Kendrick, 18, who rushed the shooter and was fatally shot, and his life. We wanted the nation to know about Kendrick Castillo, a selfless, loving individual with far more remarkable characteristics than can be listed. Vigil turned to political rally We quickly realized that many who attended this vigil desired to exploit our pain to support political agendas. To his credit, Sen. Michael Bennet did briefly begin with his sympathies; however, he immediately began speaking about “broken gun laws in America.” Similarly, Lauren Reeves of Moms Demand Action stressed electing "gun-smart politicians" and increasing gun restrictions and laws. Read more commentary: Parkland victim's father: Traumatized students shouldn't have been flung into politics It took me 20 years to finally talk about surviving the Columbine High School shooting I moved my kids from Florida to New Zealand, only to need to explain mass shootings anyway That isn't why we gathered together. Though these speakers might have had good intentions, they badly misread what we needed from this vigil. STEM students were looking for solace and a place to publicly honor the life of Kendrick so that the nation knows what he did for our school. Kendrick was loved by many, and to disrespect his memory with selfish intent was something we did not have the stomach for. He was a human being, not a statistic, and most certainly not a political prop. How the vigil was conducted only proves that politicians are too far removed from the situation to even help us. Change will come — on our terms We needed that time to mourn our friend and process this traumatic event. Watching politicians use Kendrick’s death and our pain as a tool to promote their agendas, just a day after the massacre, was like watching a comedian perform a set during a funeral. It was disrespectful and inappropriate. I was livid; so many of us were. As soon as we recognized that this event was more of a chance to promote gun control and not an actual vigil for our fallen friend, I could feel the crowd begin to grow uneasy. One of the audience members stood up and called out, “Let STEM kids speak,” to which an organizer replied that they were unable to get in contact with us. In reality, no one I know at STEM heard from the organizers. In response, it seemed every STEM student in the room became enraged. And with that, we stormed out of the gymnasium to the hallway in protest. Many of us even charged outside for an impromptu smartphone light vigil to bring the event back to what its original purpose should have been: celebrating Kendrick’s life. Although I know the students of STEM School Highlands Ranch intend to lead a charge for change, we need time to mourn the death of our friend, Kendrick. We refuse to allow politicians to use our experience as some form of leverage such that we become just another gun debate. We will honor the memory of Kendrick Castillo and the sacrifice he made to save his class, and the school, from something far more devastating. Fischer Argosino is a junior at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.<doc-sep>
"This was not a vigil. This was a political stunt." David Zalubowski / AP Students leave during the community vigil May 8. Survivors of the shooting at the charter school in Colorado that killed one student and injured eight others stormed out of a community vigil Wednesday, calling it a "political stunt." The event, organized by Team Enough — the student-led initiative of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence — was intended to be an interfaith vigil to honor the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting survivors and 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, who died Tuesday after trying to stop one of the shooters. Hundreds of grieving students, parents, and community members packed the Highlands Ranch school's gym, but their anger and frustration became apparent after none of the STEM students themselves had a chance to speak about Castillo at the vigil. Instead, several speakers — including Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Michael Bennet, Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, and a Moms Demand Action volunteer, Laura Reeves — addressed the need for gun control legislation. "[Our kids] have a job to do when they come to school," Bennet told the crowd. "Their job is not to fix American’s broken gun laws. Their job is not, as Kendrick so selflessly did yesterday, give up their own life to save their classmates' lives or their teachers' lives. That's not their job. They’re relying on the rest of us to do our job so they can do their job." Via Facebook: KMPHFOX26 Sen. Michael Bennet at the vigil. "Let STEM kids speak," an attendee shouted during the vigil as some students began walking out in protest. However, an organizer of the event told the crowd that they hadn't been able to connect with any STEM students to have them speak at the vigil. "You never asked," some students said in response, prompting an exodus of students and parents, according to an eyewitness who attended the vigil but wished to remain anonymous. David Zalubowski / AP Students and others gather in the high school hallway after walking out of the vigil. One organizer blamed the media for sending attendees outside, but students later said that was false and that they had chosen to leave themselves. The protesting students then gathered in the high school hallway, chanting, "Mental health," "STEM strong," and "Fuck the media," the eyewitness told BuzzFeed News on Thursday. Students from the #STEMshooting in Colorado stormed out of a rally organized by gun-control advocates Wednesday night after growing angry about the politicization of their trauma. "Everyone was upset there was no time to honor Kendrick," one eyewitness said, adding that students and parents appeared to be frustrated at the news media for taking photos of people crying. "It's just about votes and something that doesn't have anything to do with anything," a school parent, Chris Barrette, told KRDO-TV. "It's about the victims, our faculty, and the first responders, the horror that our students went through just yesterday." Several students who walked out of the gym also gathered outside the high school and held their own impromptu vigil in the rain, pointing their illuminated cellphones toward the sky. STEM students leave vigil, hold their own outside Highlands Ranch HS. Many students then returned to the gym and held a moment of silence for Castillo and the shooting survivors. Several of them took the microphone to express their frustrations with the organized event and to speak about Castillo. "This was not a vigil," one student said in his speech. "This was purely a political stunt. This is not what we wanted for Kendrick. We didn’t want Kendrick to be a prop. We wanted Kendrick to be mourned. We wanted all of you to join us in that mourning, but that was not allowed here. We all walked out. We were not kicked out, despite what you have heard. And we're back now to tell you that we love Kendrick and we love all of the survivors." Via krdo.com A STEM student gives a speech at an impromptu vigil for Kendrick Castillo. One of Castillo's classmates broke down as she remembered her friend. "I came here for my close friend Kendrick," she said. "I just wanted to talk about him a little bit because everybody's been sitting here talking about gun violence and avoiding the fact that he died."