PHOTOS: Remembering Parkland: One year later

From left, Victoria Gonzalez, Anthony Gonzalez and Ronit Reoven
Anthony Gonzalez, center with his daughter, Victoria Gonzalez, left, and teacher Ronit Reoven at a memorial near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Hundreds of thousands of students and adults across Florida and beyond observed a moment of silence Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 people dead.

"It's a permanent sore spot," said Fort Lauderdale High School junior Jake Lynch. "Forever, me going forward, I'll feel this day, and this time and those names. It reminds me of where I want the world to be. ... From suffering, better things come out."

The massacre on Feb. 14, 2018, inflamed the national debate over guns, turned young people into political activists and gave rise to some of the biggest youth demonstrations since the Vietnam era.

Students at Fort Lauderdale High School
Students at Fort Lauderdale High School participate in a moment of silence during the one-year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. (Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP)

The moment of silence at more than 1,000 Florida schools was held at 10:17 a.m., though the shooting actually began around 2:20 p.m. School officials picked a different time because Stoneman Douglas students were being dismissed early to avoid being on campus at the hour of the attack. The time 10:17 was selected to denote the 17 slain.

Many Stoneman Douglas students arrived wearing the burgundy #MSDStrong T-shirts that have become an emblem of the tragedy. Outside, clear plastic figurines of angels were erected for each of the 14 students and three staff members killed. (AP)

Wendy Behrend
Crossing guard Wendy Behrend at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting. (Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP)
Emma Rothenberg, Cheryl Rothenberg and Sophia Rothenberg
From left, Emma Rothenberg, 20, with her mother, Cheryl Rothenberg, and sister, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas student Sophia Rothenberg, 17. (Photo: Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP)
Suzanne Devine Clark
Suzanne Devine Clark, an art teacher at Deerfield Beach Elementary School. (Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP)
Kul Bhushan Mody and Kiran Bala Mody
Kul Bhushan Mody and his wife, Kiran Bala Mody, pray outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Students at Seminole Middle School in Plantation, Fla.
Students at Seminole Middle School in Plantation, Fla., participate in a moment of silence. (Photo: Terry Spencer/AP)
Jack Jozefs
Jack Jozefs outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Photo: Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP)
Visitors at a memorial set up near the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Visitors at a memorial set up near the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A scene from the one-year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
A scene from the one-year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. (Photo: Joe Skipper/Reuters)
Suzanne Devine Clark
Photo: Joe Skipper/Reuters
In front of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda, Md
In front of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda, Md., Feb. 14, 2019. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Students walk past the building where the shooting took place. (Photo: Joe Skipper/Reuters)

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