Minneapolis Youth March Against Gun Violence

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Gun violence affects children and teens in Minnesota at an alarming rate. To illustrate that point, children from the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School are marching down Broadway Avenue in north Minneapolis on Wednesday.

The street was packed with kids up until late Wednesday morning as hundreds of them marched to spread awareness about the effects of gun violence on children.

More than 200 kids enrolled in the Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools marched down Broadway Avenue. Most of them were wearing white shirts, but 102 of them wore red. That represented the number of children in Minnesota who have died from shootings in the past decade.

This was all part of a Freedom School National Day of Social Action as schools all over the country were doing similar activities to take a stand against gun violence.

"We're thinking about our kids here. We're talking about schools, parks and recreation centers. You wouldn't expect it to be happening in your community," said Raymond Kidd, a youth advocacy leadership training volunteer in Minneapolis.

"I'm very excited, it's very fun. I'm just excited about what we're going to be doing today," said Kari Johnson.

Statistics show one child or teen is killed or injured from guns every 30 minutes in the U.S. Officials said 102 children in Minnesota have died from gun violence in the last 10 years.

Minneapolis does a march every year around some kind of social justice issue, but this year they chose to promote gun safety.