Since Parkland, 1,200 children under the age of 18 have been killed by firearms in the United States.

One thousand two hundred.

Thus, according to a new reporting initiative, Since Parkland, about a year after last year's mbad shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, it is estimated that the number of seniors under aged 18 died as a result of armed violence. . The shooting gave impetus to the March for Our Lives, a national movement that included sit-ins, die-ins and walkouts in schools, propelling students to the forefront of the conversation about fire arms.

In a detailed report published a few days before the first anniversary of the Parkland shooting, more than 200 teenage journalists explained how many gunshots have struck young Americans. "Since Parkland", a collaborative reporting project between The trace, the Miami Heraldand the McClatchy Press Group present the lives of more than 1,200 victims of gun violence – from zero to 18 years old – who were killed in the 12 months following the Florida tragedy.

The project's goal? To "create three-dimensional human beginnings that were more than a mere statistic – more than just another dead child" The trace Katina Paron, Editor-in-Chief of Projects Teen Vogue.

Paron is not a student, but a youth media veteran who has spent 25 years of her journalism career proving how her children are able to tell stories. But when it comes to the issue of gun violence after Parkland, Paron says he saw children paralyzed. "Their hands are tied when they can not deal with the issues that interest them," said Paron. Looking at "the roadblocks" that they faced at school until "reading and hearing about the death of children," she added, "they did not not feel that the agency can do anything because most of them can not vote. again."

But what they've seen, according to Paron, are hundreds of stories waiting to be told. Paron and the rest of his team to The trace, a "non-profit newsroom dedicated to bridging the crisis of US armed violence", saw the lives of children, siblings and friends reduced to the number of victims. They decided to pool their resources with other major organizations and the next generation of truth tellers to do something about it.

"Since Parkland" still does not correspond to an activist call for gun control, says Paron. "[It] does not provide solutions or suggestions on how to solve this problem. What we are doing is drawing attention to the fact that almost 1,200 people aged 18 and under have died as a result of gun violence – that's wrong. And someone must do something about it. And the only thing these kids can do, is write.

Melat Eskender, a high school student from Columbus, Ohio, was only one of those teens. Eskender is one of the student authors of the project and is proud to be able to "defend marginalized voices across the country through [her] written, she says Teen Vogue

As a young journalist experienced in several publications, Eskender approached the project with great experience. But after telling the stories of 16 victims of gun violence for "Since Parkland", Eskender admitted that this venture was unique.

"Many of these teenagers and young people were like me and my brothers and sisters. [and] my friends; I could not help but see myself in them, "says Eskender. "I think the mere fact of having this connection made the task even more difficult to find out how they died."

"Talking to families, questioning their loved ones, can sometimes be overwhelming, and you just have to step back and catch your breath."