OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Students from Central and Burke high schools in Omaha walked out of class as part of a national movement on the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

Hundreds of Omaha students participated in the National School Walkout Day on Friday.

Central High School senior Nick Koehler was one of about 300 Central students to walk out Friday morning. Koehler, one of the organizers of Friday’s rally, says participating students are pleading with state and federal lawmakers to “just pass common sense gun laws.”

School officials worked with students to safely carry out the protests.

While the walkouts coincide with the Columbine anniversary, they come about two months after a shooter entered a Parkland, Florida, school and left 17 people dead.