KC ‘March for Our Lives’ protesters gather at park near Plaza

Stacey Conley of Cameron, Mo., is a Marine who witnessed combat in the first Desert Storm.

When her 17-year-old daughter, Grace, was just about to go to a Christian rock concert in Kansas City last week, Conley felt compelled to warn her.

"If she hears gunshots, I told her to hit the deck and stay there," Conley said. "It physically made me sick to have to say it. It's a shame it had to be said."

It was the sad reality of her warning that on Saturday compelled Conley to arrive more than two hours early at Theis Park for a "March for Our Lives" protest against gun violence expected to draw thousands of protesters.

Kansas City is one of some 800 cities acround the world holding protests, part of a national movement against gun violence ignited after the February mass shooting of 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Bundled in a thick coat, with gloves and hand warmers, Conley was one of several hundred people who gathered in the hours before the event. She sat with Carolyn Mills of Belton, who arrived with her son Terry Purdie and Purdie's 10-year-old granddaughter Leah, who held a homemade two-sided sign. On one side: "Books not Bullets." On the other, her sentiment: "I'm 10. I need a safe place to learn."

Only in the fourth grade, Leah said she is well familiar with school lock-down drills, a precaution against active shooters.

Nearby, Addison Leitch, 22, of Overland Park, wrote a message, "For my brother," on a board set up in the park asking why people were coming to the event.

"He's one of the most special people in my life," Leitch said. "I just want to be able to make sure he can learn and be in a safe place in his school."

On the west side of the park, just south of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the sidewalk was lined with placards in memory of children and adults killed by gun violence, each with a photo, many with names:

Tanya Drew, Died 2/20/15, Little Rock, Ark.

Reat Underwood, Killed 4/13/14, Overland Park, Kan.

Tom Pickert, Died 10/25/17, Kansas City, Mo..

The event began at noon.

This story was originally published March 24, 2018 at 11:33 AM with the headline "KC ‘March for Our Lives’ protesters gather at park near Plaza."