Parkland shooting selected as top Associated Press news story of 2018

The Parkland, Fla., school shooting that left 17 dead and led to nationwide protests for gun control was the top news story of 2018, according to a poll.

The Associated Press’ annual poll of editors and news directors in the U.S. found that the shooting was the top story, followed by special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Continued fallout from the #MeToo movement finished third. 

{mosads}The February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 15 students and two staff members dead.

The suspected shooter, Nikolas Cruz, faces 17 counts of first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.  

The shooting sparked a number of protests nationwide calling for stricter gun control in the U.S.

Survivors from the shooting helped organize March for Our Lives, a demonstration held in Washington, D.C., weeks after the shooting. Millions of people participated in the march.

A number of Parkland survivors, including student activists David Hogg and Emma González, have since remained active in pushing for gun control and other reforms. 

Other stories that finished among the top news stories in 2018, according to the AP poll, were the midterm elections, the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, immigration developments and the California wildfires.