Students at CSMB and CVPA participated in the walkout less than three years after their campus was the site of a school shooting.

ST. LOUIS — Students at three St. Louis public schools walked out of class Friday to advocate for gun safety measures.

In a message sent to teachers and staff, Superintendent Millicent Borishade said SLPS students were joining a national walkout in solidarity with students in Minneapolis after last month’s shooting at a Catholic school. 

Students at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience and Central Visual and Performing Arts participated in the walkout less than three years after their campus was the site of a school shooting. 

It is not the first time students from the school have voiced their support for gun safety measures. In the months following the shooting, students from the school advocated for red-flag laws they said could have prevented the 2022 shooting. The 19-year-old perpetrator had a long history of mental health problems. Police said relatives monitored his mail and often checked his room to make sure he did not have a weapon.

His mother called police on Oct. 15 after she found an AR-15-style rifle and wanted it removed. But police said in a statement days after the shooting that officers “did not have clear authority” to seize the weapon.

In the three years since the school shooting, Missouri has not passed a red-flag law.

A third SLPS school, McKinley Classical Leadership Academy High School, also participated in the walkout.

“Through this peaceful and impactful form of civic engagement, students in St. Louis and across the nation are urging those in power to take action and save lives,” Borishade said in the message. “SLPS is committed to supporting these students in their advocacy.”