While the nation reels from tragedy this week in Nashville, Tenn., where three young children and three adults were shot and killed at an elementary school, hundreds of New York City students are walking out of class to protest gun violence closer to home.

Two consecutive days of rallies were already in the works at four Brooklyn schools in response to a spate of violence involving local kids and teens, before a heavily armed former student on Monday opened fire at the Covenant School, a private Presbyterian institution.

Students told the Daily News that only solidified their insistence to end the violence plaguing young people, from passing stricter gun control legislation to investing resources in school safety and student mental health.

“Kids need to feel safe,” said Kimberli D, 17, a junior at Williamsburg Charter High School. Two students and an adult were shot near the school around dismissal time last month. “Kids should not be scared to come to school.”

Lesslie Rodriguez, 17, a senior, said she was still inside the school when the two teenagers, a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, and a school security guard, were injured. But her younger brother had already left the building.

“I was really worried about my brother’s safety,” she said. “That’s something you should never have to be worried about outside your school building. So I think it’s important that we highlight it now, because if you wait, it’s sort of like the issue dials down and like not enough attention is brought to it.”

Students went home for a few weeks for remote school and a scheduled break. But when they got back to the building, teachers and administrators brainstormed next steps with the teens.

“Our students that were affected by the incident, we talked to them,” said Shante Martin, who supervises the seniors. “They wanted to take action.”

Students, teachers and staff on Wednesday marched from their school to Gilbert Ramirez Park, where they shared poems and songs, and signed a petition with a handful of demands spearheaded by two teachers: Alexandra Sherman, who leads the special education department, and later Ryan Fuller, head of the social studies department.

Their requests include better communication between nearby schools and with the NYPD, and increased funding for year-round jobs for young people and anti-violence and mental health staffers. Teachers said they plan to keep the momentum going with action such as letter-writing campaigns in government and economics classes.

The next day, students at Metropolitan Diploma High School, Brooklyn Democracy Academy and Kappa V (Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy) middle school walked out of class to protest gun violence in Brownsville.

Members of student government at Brooklyn Democracy Academy organized the rally with the help of a local nonprofit, Elite Learners, in response to two recent shootings near the Brownsville campus by the train station at Rockaway and Livonia Avenues, before the Nashville school shooting.

“The message is always needed,” said Camara Jackson, executive director of Elite Learners. “And it’s just right on time.”

Police reported four incidents of gun violence during one week in January when teens were either the shooter or the victim, prompting the schools Chancellor David Banks to declare a “state of emergency.” Last year, 157 victims under the age of 18 were either killed or wounded by gunfire, a 15% increase since 2021 when school was disrupted by the pandemic, NYPD data show.

“I think COVID was hard on everyone, but for our young people it temporarily disconnected their social emotions skills,” said Jackson. “It’s almost difficult now to reunite and remember communication is key, and expressing themselves in a nonviolent way.”

Hundreds of students and community organizers marched around the block around the middle and high schools, and repeated “stop the violence, break the silence.” At least one student carried a sign with a photo of a classmate impacted by gun violence, while another chanted: “Nobody is paying attention to us.”