Activists leave 7,000 pairs of children's shoes outside the U.S. Capitol in memory of gun violence victims

About 7,000 pairs of children's shoes overtook the U.S. Capitol's lawn Tuesday morning.

The shoes were empty, but they carried a loaded message: Each pair represents a child killed by gun violence since the Sandy Hook school shooting in December 2012, claims Avaaz, the activist group that arranged the protest. The New York Times reported last month that in 239 school shootings since Sandy Hook, 138 people have been killed.

Avaaz posted on Feb. 28 that it would be collecting worn shoes, and the donations quickly poured in. Some of the pairs actually belonged to gun violence victims, Fox 5 reports.

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After the protest wraps up at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, the shoes will head to homeless shelters in Washington, D.C. On March 24, the March For Our Lives, organized by the student survivors of the mass shooting at a Florida high school last month, will bring its gun reform message to the nation's capital. Watch the video below to see the massive display. Kathryn Krawczyk