Demolition of Marjory Stoneman Douglas begins – NBC 6 South Florida

On Friday, a crew is scheduled to begin demolishing the three-story classroom building where 17 people died in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018.

The victims' families were invited to watch the first blows and, if they wish, to hammer a piece themselves. Authorities plan to complete the several-week project before the school's 3,300 students return from summer vacation in August. Most were in elementary school at the time of the shooting.

The building was maintained to serve as evidence in the shooter's criminal trial in 2022. Jurors toured the bullet-riddled and blood-stained halls but spared him the death penalty. He is serving a life sentence without parole.

Broward County is not the only county to demolish a school building after a mass shooting. In Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished and replaced after the 2012 shooting. In Texas, authorities closed Robb Elementary in Uvalde after the 2022 shooting and plan to demolish it. The library at Columbine High in Colorado was demolished after the 1999 shooting.

Last year, relatives of some of the victims gave Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress, school officials, police officers and about 500 other guests from across the country a tour of the building, highlighting how improved security measures such as bulletproof glass in the door windows, a better alarm system and doors that could be locked from the inside could have saved lives.

Those who took the tour described it as heartbreaking, a kind of time capsule of February 14, 2018. School books and laptops lay open on desks, and wilted Valentine's Day flowers, deflated balloons and abandoned teddy bears lay scattered among broken glass. These items have now been removed.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a former student at the school, said in a statement Friday that the community had been forever changed by the shooting.

“I never imagined that the high school I graduated from would become a war zone. What I saw in that building is truly haunting – windows with bullet holes, homework strewn everywhere, blood in the hallway,” Moskowitz said. “The people of Parkland will no longer have to walk past this horrific reminder of our grief. The families of the innocent people who lost their lives that day will never be able to move on, only look forward.”

The Broward County School Board has not yet decided what to replace the building with. Teachers suggested a practice area for the band, Junior ROTC and other groups, connected by a landscaped path to a nearby memorial erected several years ago. Several of the students killed were members of the band or Junior ROTC.

Some parents want to turn the place into a memorial.

Tony Montalto, whose daughter Gina died that day, said in a statement that the demolition was “a necessary step to move forward.” He has advocated for school safety programs and a memorial.

“While we can never erase the pain and memories, we can create a place that honors their legacy and provides hope for a safer future,” he said. “That's why we fight every day to pass sensible legislation that will keep our family members safe in their school.”