RICHARDSON, Texas — When Justin Mitchell walked out of Richardson High School at noon on Thursday, he did so with a mission in his heart.
"It's a way to be heard," Mitchell said. "Walking out is showing that you believe in this, and that's how you get heard."
Mitchell, who is finishing his junior year at RHS, spent his freshman year learning virtually during the height of COVID-19. Since he's been in-person over the past few years, he said he's developed severe anxiety over going to school that he has to take medication to treat.
"After shootings in Parkland, in Allen recently and Nashville, it just feels so anxious," Mitchell said. "It can happen anywhere at any time. It could happen right now and there's nothing that would be done about it."
Mitchell said his anxiety looks like constantly checking for exits when entering new classrooms and spaces, and constantly thinking about a possible escape plan.
"I'm constantly checking the doors," Mitchell said. "If I see someone coming in and out of the school, I immediately think if they have a gun."
Mitchell's mother said that his anxiety attacks causes him to have debilitating stomachaches and fear that's hard to control, which has led him to missing multiple days of school.
"It was either sickness or being scared of going to school," Mitchell said of his absences.
When he participated in Thursday's walkout, Mitchell said he and about a dozen other students were not allowed to re-enter the building. They'd been locked and received unexcused absences for the day.
"I think it's absurd," Mitchell said. "I think being expelled for that day and not being let back in is absurd. School is supposed to protect us."
Thursday's absence marks 10 absences for Mitchell. His mother said they've received truancy letters from the district and that the 10th absence could put him in a position to not be able to complete his courses this semester under the district's attendance policy.
Richardson ISD sent an email out to parents on Wednesday, the day before the scheduled protest, informing them that students who left campus to participate would not be able to re-enter their schools afterward and would receive an unexcused absence. The districted cited a concern about student safety, stating that walking out would be "disrupting" the school day and encouraged students to reach out to their legislators.
"Calling, emails...everything like that; it won't work," Mitchell said. "You didn't see Martin Luther King Jr. or anyone like that just sending mail to the president. They were protesting and giving speeches. That's how you get heard."
Students across North Texas have been holding similar walk-out demonstrations this week, with many citing Saturday's mass shooting in Allen as their motivation to call for change.
Students in Plano ISD held walkouts on Wednesday, and Allen High School students held demonstrations Thursday.
"We saw what the Plano students did, and we were inspired since the shooting happened in our own neighborhood," Allen High School junior Jordan Roberson said.
Students at the Allen High School demonstration told WFAA they were told they would be "written up" for participating in the walkout.
"Why should I get detention because I don't want to die at school?" one Allen High School student asked. "It's only when we do things that will get us in trouble that they will listen to us. Our lives on the line, and I think it's very worth it."
A spokesperson for Allen ISD told WFAA that a majority of the students who participated in the walkout did so during their lunch period and that as long as they did not miss a class to attend, they did not receive disciplinary action or an unexcused absence.
WFAA also reached out to Plano ISD and Frisco ISD with questions about how districts responded to student participation in gun violence protests and any absences that may have followed. Neither district responded.
Mitchell, who is an AP and honor roll student, said he's not overly concerned with his absences impacting his ability to complete his courses as the semester comes to a close. However, he said he is concerned about the sentiment felt by the district's stance on the protest.
"The message I get is 'We don't care. You can walk out all you want, and nothing is going to change,'" Mitchell said.
It's already hard to feel safe. He said it would've been nice to feel supported.
"I just have to live with it," Mitchell said. "I have to talk myself down every day."