(Parkland) The demolition of a building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people died in a 2018 mass shooting, began early Friday morning, as victims’ families looked on .
Several family members of the victims stood about 300 feet from the construction site in the school parking lot, holding their cell phones to take photos and film the event.
Nearby, Dylan Persaud, who was on the benches of this school in 2018, witnessed the start of the destruction.
Dylan Persaud was standing near the freshman building when the shooting began that day. He lost seven friends and his geography teacher, Scott Beigel, in the shooting.
“I wish it would go away,” he said. That ends the story. They should put up a nice memorial there for the 17 [victims]. »
The families of the victims were invited to witness the first blows of the demolition and to destroy part of the school building themselves if they wished. Officials plan to complete the project before the school’s 3,300 students return in August from summer vacation. Most were in elementary school when the shooting occurred.
The building had been preserved to serve as evidence during the shooter’s trial in 2022. Jurors toured the bullet-riddled and blood-stained rooms. Although they spared the shooter the death penalty, he is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Broward County is not alone in destroying a school building after a mass shooting. In Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished after the 2012 shooting and replaced. In Texas, authorities closed Robb Elementary School in Uvalde after the 2022 shooting and plan to demolish it. The Columbine High library in Colorado was demolished after the tragic event in 1999.
Over the past year, relatives of some victims have accompanied Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress, school officials, police officers and about 500 other guests from across the country to tour the building. They mainly demonstrated how improved security measures such as bulletproof glass in door windows, a better alarm system and doors that lock from the inside could have saved lives.
Many described the visit as heartbreaking, taking them back to that sad day on February 14, 2018. Textbooks and laptops lay open on desks, where wilted Valentine’s Day flowers sat, while deflated balloons and discarded teddy bears were scattered among broken glass. These items have now been discarded.
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a former student of the school, said in a statement Friday that the community was forever changed by the shooting.
“I never thought I would see the school I graduated from turn into a war zone. What I saw in that building was truly haunting: windows riddled with bullets, homework scattered everywhere, blood in the hallway,” Jared Moskowitz said. Parkland residents will no longer have to ignore this horrific reminder of our grief. The families of those innocent people killed that day will never be able to turn the page, but at least they will be able to move forward. »
The Broward County School Board has not yet decided what the building will be replaced with. The teachers suggested a practice field for the band, or for reserve officers of the United States armed forces, connected by a landscaped path to a nearby memorial erected a few years ago. Several of the students killed belonged to these two groups.
Some parents want the site to be transformed into a memorial.
Tony Montalto, whose daughter Gina died that day, said in a statement that the demolition is “a necessary step moving forward.” He advocated for school safety programs and a memorial site.
“While we can never erase the pain and memories, we can create a space that honors their legacy and fosters hope for a safer future,” he said. That’s why we fight every day to pass important legislation that keeps our family members safe at school. »
