GRESHAM, Ore. — A large group of students from Gresham High School took to the streets in protest on Thursday, marching towards the district headquarters to voice their concerns following a recent gun incident on campus. The students expressed that the event — a 17-year-old bringing a gun into a classroom on Sept. 20 — was just the “tip of the iceberg,” and they fear for their safety without urgent action.
“You have a voice, use it!” shouted one student, as cheers erupted from the crowd.
Many students articulated their frustration and fear, insisting that “no one should be scared of a gun coming to school,” said a Gresham High student who participated in the walkout.
The protest was catalyzed by a lack of communication from school administration regarding the incident.
Aaliyah Leffall, a Gresham High student, highlighted the potential danger of the situation, stating, “He could have went to that assembly and shot the whole assembly.”
Parents echoed their concerns, with Amy Ward, a Gresham High parent, expressing her shock at the administration's handling of the situation: “There was no notifications to the parents that day, and I was in shock. They kept it completely quiet, and I thought that was insane.”
The protest followed a school board meeting on Wednesday night, where educators, including Mark Adamski, shared their outrage.
“They let a known student with a weapon walk through my class filled with students, and the police hadn't even been called or consulted yet,” Adamski said.
In response to the incident, the Gresham-Barlow School District praised the building administration's handling of the situation but acknowledged the need for ongoing improvements in safety protocols. School officials revealed they learned about the gun threat when a community member alerted them that the student had threatened them outside the school.
Students at the protest made it clear they will not relent until more security measures are put in place, with Ionna Brown urging, “They should bring back the police because I did hear there was police before. ... Maybe even metal detectors if they need to.”
Student Victoria Rudomanov added a poignant note about parental anxiety: “Their parents don’t want to get a phone call like, ‘Hey, your kid just died. I’m so sorry to hear this.’ There should be something happening about this because it’s going to get worse every single year.”
The students expressed a desire not only for an investigation into the incident but also for significant changes in the current administration, insisting that those responsible should be held accountable.
In a statement, Superintendent James Hiu said that the school was not put on lockdown or on hold because "The student was in a classroom with other students and staff at the time. Because of this, the administration determined a controlled, deliberate response was needed and strategically removed the student from the classroom."
In response to the incident, Gresham-Barlow School District is hosting a safety summit on Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gordon Russell Middle School. For those unable to attend in person, the district said it will share information from the meeting and provide an online feedback form.
Timeline of the incident
Hiu laid out the timeline of the Sept. 20 incident in a message to student, staff and families, saying that at 10:39 a.m., a community member went to the school to inform them about a possible student pulling a gun on him 90 minutes before he arrived.
Two minutes later, the principal called the district office, then passed on the information to the campus monitors and administrative team. After the campus monitors reviewed security footage to identify the student and confirmed the student's identity and location, the administrative team planned to get the student from the classroom.
Between 11:19 and 11:23 a.m., the team headed to the classroom and walked back with the student to the school office, which closed to students and staff. The principal then called 911 at 11:30 a.m. and remained on the phone until police arrived, 15 minutes later at 11:45 a.m. Messages were then sent to staff, then families about the incident.
The police finally left the school with the student at 1:21 p.m., almost an hour-and-a-half after the 911 call.
A staff meeting was held to debrief on the incident over an hour later, at 2:45 p.m.