ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The only student to walk out of a suburban Albuquerque middle school as part of a nationwide protest against gun violence was suspended for the action.
KOB-TV reports 12-year-old Ryan Barber was immediately placed on in-school suspension after returning to Mountain View Middle School on Wednesday.
Rio Rancho Public Schools officials say middle school students who walked out were considered to be ditching, which is punished by in-school suspensions.
District officials say the high school students who walked out received an unexcused absence.
The sixth-grade student says she accepts the punishment, but she defended her right to protest.
Thousands of students in Albuquerque participated in walkouts Wednesday for 17 minutes in honor of the 17 people killed during a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
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Information from: KOB-TV, http://www.kob.com
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