school in parkland, 234florida. and this morning people already starting to gather. organizers estimate up to a half million, maybe more, will rally in washington today. and cnn s caylee tar hung ka joining from us parkland where many say this is what finally tipped them off, the killing of 17 people there on february 14. we can hear the music behind you. the event is scheduled to start in a few hours. but they are really putting an action behind their protest, aren t they. reporter: and people are continuing to flow in. the program set to start in about an hour and a half. but it is hard to take a few steps in pine trails park without seeing a sign like this one, ask me about voting. six organizations on site today to help people here register to vote. and you are spearheading the
middle of today s program. this crowd of thousands who have gathered here in pine trails park are experiencing something that can t be experienced by any other march across the country today. there is a unique energy here, but beneath that energy, the grief that so many in this community feel. this march, a call to action but also a challenging day for so many as this march will leave pine trails park in about an hour and walk past stoneman douglas high school. among the powerful speakers we ve heard to this point today, just a moment ago samantha mayor, a student at stoneman douglas who detailed the moment she was shot in the knee on february 14th, the fear and the uncertainty that she experienced in that moment. and this contract was handed out by adam bush, the student at stoneman douglas who is asking parents to sign this contract to vote for, quote, ethical legislators who will prioritize
park, this park where these kids grew up playing soccer, having sports banquets and award ceremonies. this park became a memorial where people came to pay their respects to the 17 victims and shed tears for that loss of life. today this park takes on a new meaning for the change that they hope to see. this march will leave pine trails park in about two hours. they will march towards the high school. they re then told to march in silence past the high school and to keep marching as this signal is a sign of the determination that they want to keep this conversation moving forward. fred, this program just about to get under way with a host of speakers. we anticipate it to be a very powerful and moving morning here in the parkland area. kaylee hartung, thank you so much, out of parkland, florida. you see the crowds there. there are crowds developing in new york city as well and that s where we find our jason carroll in the thick of it.
of a different mood here. the students walked out at 10:00 a.m. and walked together to the football field. they had kind of a moment of silence during those 17 minutes but they also had the drama team that created this song called shine that we ve heard several times before here in the months since the shooting happened. they played that and in the end the student body of 3,000 students hugged each other. then they felt a little inspired by these students that had come from other schools to surround this school and they then marched off campus to the pine trails park which is where we ve seen those large memorials for the 17 students and teachers and coaches who were killed one month ago today. they weren t expecting to do that. that s not what they initially planned to do. but they walked out there and they were with elementary school students and middle school students and students from schools that actually decided they were going to march the school. it took almost an hour to get
washington, d.c., tallahassee, and just came down here. the calls i have received from the congresswoman, from mayor beam furr, from the commissioner, on and on and on. i can t thank them enough. they just want to see safety and broward county. to all of you, thank you. we will be going over, i will be going over at 6:00 tonight, pine trails to individual for those that passed away. i know some of you are going to heed my remarks and i know some of you are not, but i m going to say them anyway. you need to respect the privacy of these families. these families are going to the most horrific time in their lives, and if they say they don t want to talk to you, respect them. don t move forward with your camera. don t move forward with your microphone. let these families be. let these families heal. they deserve that. please honor them. many of them called me and asked