About 35 people gathered last weekend at Bellevue Library to remember the victims of the Parkland, Florida Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that occurred on Feb. 14.

“The most touching part about the evening was to have two ladies from Stoneman Douglas High School there. They were ex-students of the school and were so touched that we did something here in far-away Bellevue,” said organizer Twisha, who doesn’t have a last name. “From Vegas to Parkland, a lot has changed.”

Twisha added that 30 people who came were volunteers, and not members of Moms Demand Action Washington chapter, which helped organize the vigil.

“The anger was palpable, the vigil got emotional as we started reading out the names and biographies of all 17 victims,” she added.

Twisha said the shooting was the 180th mass shooting since 2009 and at least the third in 2018. The shooting was the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook, when 20 students and six teachers were killed on Dec. 14, 2012.

Those who attended the vigil demanded lawmakers take action with “common-sense policies,” such as the Red Flag Laws, which allow law enforcement to take firearms of people believed to be a danger to themselves or others.

A child at Bellevue Library’s Mahatma Gandi statue during the vigil for the 17 victims of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting. Photo courtesy of Twisha