A student who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is now advocating against gun violence in Brooklyn.

Aalayah Eastmond was part of the massacre that occurred on February 14, 2018. The gunman opened fire at the school, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.

“My classmate, Nicholas Dworet, was sitting right in front of me,” Eastmond says. “He had fell over. I fell over with him and matched his entire body movements…until the shooter moved on to the next classroom.”

A traumatic experience itself, but it wasn’t her first time with gun violence. Her uncle was shot in Brooklyn 16 years ago. 

Her mother encouraged her to start speaking out in the hopes it could help others. She has since gone across the country spreading the message of peace.

The 18-year-old wants to address violence in minority communities more than anything, as well as gun violence in general.

“I do think that we need to treat gun violence in black and brown communities the same way we treat it when we look at mass shootings,” Eastmond says. 

Eastmond is headed to college in Washington, D.C. to major in criminal justice, and hopes to turn her passion into a career.