A classroom building at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where In 2018, a shooting occurred that left 17 people dead.began being demolished last week, in a moment that revived memories for family and friends of the victims.
The building had been preserved as part of evidence for the trial that was carried out against the shooter, identified as Nikolas Cruzwhich finally ended sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The demolition decision had been announced last year. In a statement, Broward County Public Schools said they made this decision in consultation with health and safety experts, and out of concern for the well-being of students and staff on campus.
For this act of demolition, symbolically, The relatives were invited to witness the first blows and, if they wished, to hammer a piece of a wall themselves..
“Obviously today is a very, very sad day. “It’s a reminder that I don’t have my little one here,” he told Local 10 Max Schachterwhose son, Alex, was killed in the shooting.
The former student Bryan Lequerique, present at this act of demolition, also recalled lacerating moments of that day. “The fire alarms, the screams, the police coming in with their hands in the air… very traumatic,” she said.
The demolition is scheduled to take place Monday through Friday until 4:30 pm and the plan is to complete it before students return to school in Augustafter the summer vacation period.
Now that the demolition is underway, Max Schachter He remembered how many times he had passed by that building. According to her she told Local 10 There were more than 10.
For its part, Lori Alhadefffather of one of the murdered students and currently a member of the Broward School Board, mentioned that he continues to think about his daughter Alyssaand “in the pain I suffer every day.”
Once the walls have been torn down, it is hoped to create a space to honor the victims of that tragic event, even though the Broward County school board has not decided what the building will be replaced with.
Some ideas go hand in hand with teachers at the institution who suggested a practice field for the Junior ROTC band, to which several murdered students belonged, connected by a landscaped path to a nearby monument that was erected a few years ago.
According to Local 10, Broward County is not alone in tearing down a school building following a mass shooting. In Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished and replaced after the 2012 shooting. In Texas, authorities closed Robb Elementary School in Uvalde after the 2022 shooting and plan to demolish it. In Colorado, the library at Columbine High School was demolished after the 1999 shooting.
