Tears overcame Ashley Reilly outside Auburn High School Wednesday morning.
Reilly, 16, was one of hundreds who congregated at the back of the school as a part of the national walkouts planned to protest gun violence and to honor the 17 people killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last month.
Students, staff, administrators and Auburn Police Department officers stood outside, largely in silence, as snow hit the ground.
Reilly, a junior, was two minutes late to the protest.
"It was 17 minutes for 17 victims. So for me to go (back in the school at) 10:17 when I had gotten out here at 10:02, I was leaving two victims off," Reilly said.
Feeling she had to get that guilt off her chest, she spoke with social studies teacher William Gonzalez and then gave him a hug. Reilly said she regretted not remaining outside an extra two minutes as the other students made their way back indoors. She said she had been planning to walk out even if people in the school hadn't been given the option to go out.
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