Following the mass shooting last week that killed 17 high school students at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in southern Florida, hundreds of students at West Boca Raton High School came together on Tuesday morning for a moment of silence.

The funeral of one of the victims who was killed during the attack was set to he held at around the same time.

Students report that about after half an hour or so, the principal ordered everyone back to class.  Instead, about 1000 students defied authority and went on to sprint past teachers and police officers.  They walked and hitched rides to Majory Stoneman Douglas high school, 12 miles away, to pay their respects to the students who were killed and to protest gun violence.

WATCH: Students from Florida’s West Boca High School have walked out of their classes, heading towards Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as part of a call-to-action by students in the area after the mass shooting last week that killed 17 people https://t.co/JoGj3r547e pic.twitter.com/yqeNwj9PVM

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 20, 2018

16-year-old Lauren Smith who is a Sophomore at West Boca said that the walkout was inspired by a small number of students who stood on tables and chanted.

“Most of us got zeros on quizzes today,” she said. “I don’t think we should have to do that to make a change, but we do. And it’s important that we do.”

14-year-old Tomas Segnini said that he was tired but at the same time “happy”about the actions which were taken by students.

“I hope this never happens again,” Segnini said, gasping for breath. “This is the only country where this happens.”

West Boca Principal Craig Sommer who initially called for students to return to their classes said that he supports what is happening.

“This is history,” he said.

Many have accused the teens of being ‘crisis actors’ or of being pawns in a large organized anti-gun agenda. An aide to state Rep. Shawn Harrison (R-Tampa) was even fired for suggesting two Marjory Stoneman Douglas students were crisis actors.

The tragic incident has one again raised questions about gun control laws in the US. Despite his mental health history, the shooter was allowed to have a gun.