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AURORA, Colo. — Hundreds of high school students from at least six Aurora schools walked out of class Friday morning.

Aurora Police said students from Smoky Hill, Rangeview, Overland, Gateway, Hinkley and Aurora Central high schools participated in the walkout. However, several students at Hinkley said on Twitter there was no walkout there.

Officers monitored the students as the walked, some on streets and others on sidewalks, as they made their way to the Aurora Municipal Center.

At one point police had to shut the lanes of East Mississippi Avenue to accommodate the students.

Many walked with their hands up and chanted “Hands up, don’t shoot,” which has become a common reference to the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson.

One student told our reporter Dan Daru he was demonstrating because "the system is wrong."
One student told our reporter Dan Daru he was demonstrating because “the system is wrong.”

“The system is wrong,” one student said during the walkout. “This is all we can do. We are just trying to support the movement.”

The students walked to the Aurora Municipal Center, which was placed on lock down, police said.  Hundreds of students gathered there around 11 a.m. for a rally that ended around noon. By 12:30 p.m., most students had left but the Municipal Center kept its lockdown for the courts and library.

Aurora Police said they were using every available resource to monitor the students and warned that “this will delay officers response to other calls.”

Around the time the walkout started, Aurora Police got a call about a dead person found at E. 6th Avenue and Chambers Road, along the route students from Hinkley High School would have walked on their way to the Municipal Center. Police were still investigating the death, which they called a homicide, Friday afternoon.

The walkouts were another in a series that have happened since students from East High School in Denver walked out of class to protest the grand jury decisions Ferguson, Mo. and New York.

  • Students at the Aurora Municipal Center. (Photo: Raider Review)
  • Students walking out of class in Aurora. (Photo: Raider Review)
  • Students walking out of class in Aurora. (Photo: Raider Review)
  • Students walking out of class at Rangeview High School in Aurora. (Photo: Raider Review)
    Students walking out of class at Rangeview High School in Aurora. (Photo: Raider Review)
  • (Photo: Rangeview Review)

Aurora resident Jean said she thought the students demonstration was "an excuse to get out of school."
Aurora resident Jean said she thought the students demonstration was “an excuse to get out of school.”

“Is there an end to this at all?” asked an Aurora resident who said her name was Jean. “This is ridiculous.”

Jean said she thought the students were just looking for a chance to get out of school.  “I think they are trying to make it mean something, but it’s not working.”

Meanwhile, less than 100 students walked out of John F. Kennedy High School in Denver and walked to the state capitol where they held a small demonstration.

Wednesday, four Denver Police officers were injured when they were hit by a car while escorting East High School students walking down Colfax Avenue. One of the officers was still in the hospital Friday.

On Thursday several other Denver schools saw walkouts. Some groups of students were orderly, while others marched in the middle of roads and cursed at police.

The Denver Police Union claimed Thursday that some students on Wednesday’s walkout cheered then the four officers were hit by a car.

Denver Public Schools released a statement saying they had no knowledge of cheering and deplored any such comments.

This story will be updated as more information arrives.