Parkland survivor to join Massachusetts students on 50-mile walk against gun violence

Massachusetts students participating in a 50-mile march to protest gun violence will be joined by Parkland shooting survivor and March for Our Lives cofounder David Hogg, and Manuel Oliver, father of deceased Parkland student Joaquin Oliver, organizers said.

The march will start in Worcester on Aug. 22 and finish on Aug. 26 with a rally at gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson in Springfield at 12 p.m., organizers said.

Stop Handgun Violence, March For Our Lives: Boston, and national youth-led gun reform movement 50 Miles More, are organizing the march.

“The march and rally aim to keep gun reform issues in the national spotlight and to draw attention to the fact that young people feel unsafe in their neighborhoods, classrooms, movie theaters, restaurants, and homes,” organizers said in a statement.

Students are asking that Smith & Wesson make changes in their manufacturing and distribution policies to help mitigate daily gun violence across the country.

“I’m marching so that others won’t have to in the future,” Hogg said in the statement.

“We will walk with these kids as far as they need to in order to reach our common goals” Oliver said. “My role as father is not over, and I plan to keep playing that role till the last day of my life.”