In November, Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, clad in all black, wearing a bulletproof vest, and carrying an assault rifle, opened fire inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 people. The victims ranged in age from 17 months to 77 years.

Some two and a half hours north of Sutherland Springs, Zo’e Nicholl and Katie Bird spend more time thinking about the warning signs that seemed so abundant in the life of Devin Kelley than most eighth-graders. The Burnet, Texas, middle schoolers are among the 2 million children and adults who have been trained by Sandy Hook Promise, the initiative founded after the mass shooting in the Connecticut elementary school.

The girls' aim to empower their peers to learn the signs to intervene and possibly prevent gun violence. The program educates students to notice warning signs (in-person and on social media) of violence or self-harm among young people and to properly alert someone.

I would like to do this as a job or work with the Sandy Hook Promise because we can get the word out to students who then go home and tell their parents. We can make the program for parents, kids, and put stuff up around our community. Any school can use these programs because they’re free and they make your community and your school such a better place.

Read the full article by Kei-Sygh Thomas about ending gun violence from The 74