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Demonstrators 'Wear Orange' to protest gun violence

Teddy Howell, Elizabeth Gempe, Juliet Howell, Natalie Henry-Howell and Mary Hill Henry honored Riley Howell, who was killed in a mass shooting at UNC Charlotte in 2019.

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 9, 2025

Karen and Chip Pryde joined dozens of volunteers who demonstrated at the Historic Courthouse on Friday in a “Wear Orange” rally organized by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and other groups opposing gun violence.

The couple’s daughter, Julia Kathleen Pryde, was among the 32 students and professors killed in a shooting spree at Virginia Tech in April 2007.

Natalie Henry-Howell and Mary Hill Henry attended the demonstration, too, holding photos of Riley Howell and signs that said “We Can End Gun Violence” and “Protect Lives, Not Guns.”

Riley Howell was hailed as a hero after he tackled a shooter who opened fire in a classroom at UNC-Charlotte in April 2019, killing Howell and another student and wounding six. Howell “did exactly what we train people to do — you’re going to run, you’re going to hide and shield, or you’re going to face the assailant,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said at the time. “He did the latter (and) his sacrifice saved lives.”

Natalie Henry-Howell and Mary Hill Henry, Riley’s mother and grandmother, were joined by Riley’s two sisters and brother at the courthouse rally.

Karen and Chip Pryde honored their daughter Julia Kathleen Pryde, who was among 32 people killed in a shooting spree at Virginia Tech in April 2007.Retirees from Middletown, New Jersey, Karen and Chip Pryde attended the rally to remember their daughter and stand with others on National Gun Violence Awareness Day for stronger measures to prevent mass shootings.

A masters student in biological systems engineering, Julia, 23, was a certified wildland firefighter, a “natural naturalist” and researcher into sustainable agriculture in the Andes who planned to pursue a doctorate after her masters.

“She cared and thought about others much more than she paid attention to any personal concerns,” a tribute page maintained by Virginia Tech said. “She wanted to help change the world and was already on her way to creating positive changes for many people. Her giving to her causes and friends was infinite. In this world, her special brand of person is in great demand but, sadly, scarce supply.”

“Wear Orange” has its roots in a shooting 12 years ago. On Jan. 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, a high school student from the south side of Chicago, marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after the tragedy, Hadiya’s childhood friends decided to commemorate her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. Orange honors the more than 120 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day, organizers of the National Gun Violence Awareness Day rallies said in a news release.