PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A large excavator reached up to the top floor of the three-story classroom building where 17 people He died during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, making a heartbreaking noise as it hit a window early Friday as the long-awaited demolition project began.
Several family members of the victims stood about 300 feet away in the school parking lot, holding their cellphones to take photos and film the event.
Nearby, Dylan Persaud, a student in 2018, watched the the destruction has begun.
Persaud was standing near the freshman building when the shooting began that day. He lost seven longtime friends and his geography teacher, Scott Beigel, in the shooting.
“I wish it would go away,” he said. “It puts a full stop to the end of the story. They should put up a nice memorial there for the 17th.”
Victims’ families were invited to watch the first blows and hammer a piece themselves if they wish. Officials plan to complete the weeklong project before the school’s 3,300 students return in August from summer vacation. Most were at the elementary school when the shooting occurred.
The building had been preserved to serve as evidence during the shooter’s trial in 2022. Jurors visited its bullet-riddled and blood-stained rooms, but spared him the death penalty. He is 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 Elemental Robb in Uvalde after the 2022 shooting and are considering demolishing it. from Colorado High Columbine saw its library demolished after the 1999 shooting.
Over the past year, relatives of some victims have led Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress, school officials, police officers and about 500 other guests who came from across the country to tour the building. Above all, they 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.
Those who have taken the tour have called it heartbreaking and a sort of time capsule of Feb. 14, 2018. Manuals and laptops were open on the desks, and wilted Valentine’s Day flowers, deflated balloons, and discarded teddy bears were scattered among the broken glass. These objects have now been deleted.
Rep. American. 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 high school I graduated from turn into a war zone. “What I saw in that building was truly haunting: bullet-riddled windows, homework scattered everywhere, blood in the hallway,” 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 simply move forward. »
The Broward County School Board has not decided what the building will be replaced with. Teachers suggested a practice field for the band, Junior ROTC and other groups, connected by a landscaped path to a nearby memorial erected a few years ago. Several of the students killed were members of the band or Junior ROTC.
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 more secure future,” he said. “That’s why we fight every day to pass meaningful legislation that keeps our family members safe at their schools.” »