Demolition of Parkland school massacre site to begin mid-June
PARKLAND - Beginning next month, workers will begin demolishing the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting on February, 14th 2018.
The Broward school district said the process to tear down the 1200 building will begin sometime after June 10, which is also the last day of school. The demolition will be done in stages.
"It is commencing in June. Hopefully mid or early June with the goal of being fully demolished before school starts," said Broward School Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn.
Many South Floridians have been waiting for this to happen, doing away with a reminder of the school massacre."Myself and my family, we are looking forward to that day when that building comes down," said Lori Alhadeff. Her daughter Alyssa was killed in the massacre.
"I'm glad that the building is finally gonna come down," Debbi Hixon said. Her husband Chris was murdered there.
Other families have mixed emotions. "My feeling about the building, the site of the Parkland School shooting coming down is is mixed feelings," said Max Schacher. His son Alex was killed.
"I'm a little conflicted about it," said Tony Montalto. His daughter Gina was murdered. "I know that my son is not happy that will be coming down, he worries that people will forget about what happened and forget about his sister," he said.
"We understand the urgency of this matter, but it is essential to prioritize safety above all else. In preparation for the demolition, crews will clean and clear the building, adhering to state and the Environmental Protection Agency's landfill disposal regulations," according to a statement on the school district's website.
The removal of hazardous materials was completed in April and personal items from the building have been returned to students, staff, and the families of the victims who wanted them.
The building, which has stood frozen in time since the shooting, has been the subject of a number of tours by the victims' families, members of Congress, and federal officials. The aim was for them to see the horrific things that happened and learn from them, making changes in the future to help prevent something like this from happening again.
Vice President Kamala Harris toured the halls and classrooms of the building in March. She emotionally described what she saw throughout the building, referring to it as "a moment frozen in time" as she talked about paperwork still on desks, laptops, the evidence of the shooting as the dust gathered in the classrooms.'
Harris is leading the Biden administration's work to address gun violence while overseeing the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Families see the benefit of those tours. Like when Utah State Representative Ryan Wilcox toured. "Ryan spent six hours on Marjory Stoneman Douglas Campus, took 20 pages of notes, and then took all the lessons learned and put it into $100 million Utah school safety bill," Schachter said.
A memorial will eventually be built on the site. Families are hoping for something meaningful. "Maybe it's a playing field or a place where music is something with a water feature, but I don't want it to be a space that just sits there. I want it to have a vibrant life because all of those people who were taken that day lived a really good life," Hixon said.