7,000 children's shoes laid out on Capitol lawn to honor lives lost to gun violence

"It's amazing to see," said one volunteer.

March 13, 2018, 1:37 PM

Seven thousand pairs of children's shoes were lined up on the southeast lawn of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Tuesday in memory of every child who has died due to gun violence, the global advocacy organization Avaaz, who coordinated the display, said.

The 7,000 shoes in the "Monument for our Kids" installment represent every child that was killed by gunfire since the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, according to Avaaz.

"We are bringing Congress face to face with the heartbreak of gun violence," Oscar Soria, a senior campaigner with Avaaz, told ABC News. "All of these shoes cover more than 10,000 square feet."

Though most of the shoes were collected in a two week period, some of those were donated by families that lost their children to gun violence.

"About five families came that were victims of gun violence," Soria said. "It was an emotional moment today."

PHOTO: Activists with AVAAZ unloading 7000 shoes in the early morning hours on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 13, 2018. The shoes were laid out on the lawn at the Capitol as a symbol to the number of lives lost to gun violence since Newtown, CT.
Activists belonging to AVAAZ unloading 7000 shoes in the early morning hours on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 13, 2018. Organizers said the installation of the shoes on the lawn represents the number of lives lost since the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Ct.

One of the parents in attendance Tuesday was Tom Mauser, whose son was killed in the Columbine school massacre.

"I’ll be traveling to D.C. literally wearing my son Daniel’s shoes, the ones he wore the day he died at Columbine," Mauser said, according to a statement from Avaaz. "I think this kind of event with shoes offers a very powerful metaphor both for how we miss the victims who once filled those shoes and also for how we see ourselves wanting to walk in their place, seeking change, so that others don’t have to walk this painful journey.”

PHOTO: Members of the AVAAZ group install 7000 shoes on the lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 13, 2018. The shoes represents the number of lives lost since the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown, Ct.
Members of the AVAAZ group install 7000 shoes on the lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 13, 2018. The shoes represents the number of lives lost since the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown, Ct.

Also in attendance was Andy and Barbara Parker whose daughter, Alison, was shot on live television in 2015 while doing a news report for CBS affiliate station, WDBJ, in Roanoke, Virginia, Avaaz said in the statement.

The organization also said that some celebrities donated shoes as well, including Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Alyssa Milano, and Chelsea Handler.

"It's amazing to see," Soria said. "People are just coming and taking pictures and just looking at this reflection of gun violence."

PHOTO: Over 7000 shoes sit on the lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,March 13, 2018. Members of AVAAZ spent the morning placing them as a symbol of the number of lives lost since the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown, Ct.
Over 7000 shoes sit on the lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,March 13, 2018. Members of the group AVAAZ spent the morning placing them as a symbol of the number of lives lost since the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown, Ct.

The shoes will be taken off the lawn around 2 p.m. Tuesday, but Soria said that all 7,000 pairs will be donated to charity.

This isn't the first display addressing gun violence from Avaaz.

In February, the advocacy organization put up a trio of mobile billboards by Sen. Marco Rubio's home in Miami, Florida. The billboards asked why there was no congressional movement on gun control, with one of the billboards reading, “How come, Marco Rubio?”