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Student protest at Garinger prompts lockdown at CMS campuses

Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in northeast Charlotte was placed on lockdown Friday morning as a result of a nearby protest, school officials said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A walkout protest at Garinger High School Friday morning prompted a lockout at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, school officials said.

According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Garinger High School had a protest Friday, with 100 students leaving campus. School officials say that the school’s campus is now operating normally at this time. The lockdown at the middle school was lifted around 11 a.m., CMS confirmed.

Two additional schools, Vance High and Hidden Valley Elementary, were placed on lockdown due to protests in the area, according to CMS. School officials did not confirm if there were any protests on those campuses.

Students marched from Garinger to near Vance as part of their protest. According to CMPD, the majority of the students were taken back to school on CATS buses, but about a dozen students weren't on the bus.

Parents of students at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School were notified of the lockdown through a phone message delivered by the school's principal:

"Good morning Lion families, this is Principal Dean from Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle school with an important message. This message will followed by a translation in Spanish. Our school went on lock down this morning around 9:30 am as a result of protest in the area. The protest consisted mainly of students from another school. All students and staff at our school are safe and teaching and learning is continuing. CMS-PD and CMPD were on scene, monitoring the protest. The lockdown lasted about an hour. Thank you for your continued support of school. Please do not hesitate to call the school if needed."

RELATED: CMS students stage walkout protests

Last week, CMS students at several campuses, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle, staged walkout protests.

Many of the students are immigrants or come from immigrant families.

"We're just grabbing people's attention so they can know that we're out here," one student said. "We're human beings like everybody else."

Another student added, "All I want to do is make my mamma proud, and I'm pretty sure that's what everybody wants."

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