OCALA, Fla. — Marion County students held a rally to end gun violence in schools and the community.

It comes after the April 20 shooting at Forest High School.

Brandon Almeida is Forest High School's student body secretary. He was at Wednesday afternoon’s assembly where students thanked those who helped them recover after Friday's shooting inside the school.

"As soon as it happened, you know, it's something that you know you just have to accept and see where you go on from here," Almeida said.

Some students are moving forward with the #NeverAgain movement.  

Organizers of the Wednesday rally called "Never Again Ocala's Forest Strong" say they're demanding change now by promoting sensible gun reform legislation and common sense safety laws.

The event featured Forest High students and former Marjory Stoneman Douglas students, as well as candidates for the Florida House and Florida Senate.

"They're allowing different people to speak with different opinions, and that's something I think is really beneficial to progress and moving on is letting everyone have a chance to speak, and allowing everyone (to) share their side of the story," Almeida said.

Last Friday, authorities say 19-year-old Sky Bouche shot thought a door and into a classroom, injuring a 17-year-old student.

He told Spectrum News 13 that he could have hurt a lot more people if he wanted to and that he surrendered to a teacher.

Marion County Public School officials say teacher Kelly Panasuk spoke directly to the alleged shooter; she spoke at Wednesday's assembly.

"I'm so, so proud of you guys with how you've handled things, and I want to give a big shootout to my period too, because they were put in a horrible situation, and they handled it so well, so well and so proud of them,” Panasuk said. “I'm proud of everybody here and I can't say enough I mean it just it went the way it was supposed to go.”