Demolition was always the plan for the crime scene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Broward County Public Schools has been saying it wanted to tear down the building in which the tragedy occurred since shortly after it happened in 2018, but they had to wait until the trials of the shooter and former school resource officer Scott Peterson were over.
Now that there are no more legal hurdles, the school district said Thursday they will begin the demolition process as soon as this school year ends.
Razing the 1200 building erases a scar on the Parkland landscape.
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“It is very emotional, a lot of feelings, but it’s time, it’s time for that building to come down,” said school board chair Lori Alhadeff.
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She said it’s extremely painful to constantly see the place where her daughter, Alyssa, was murdered.
“It is important for us to have that building demolished so that we can move forward in our healing process,” Alhadeff said.
For faculty at Stoneman Douglas High, the building’s presence has been an endless source of trauma.
“I cannot wait for the day that it’s not here, that I don’t look down this long hallway and see a memory that’s not a good memory, it’s a horrible memory,” said Eric Garner, a teacher at the school.
Removing the building, of course, does not remove the reality of loss. Tony Montalto’s daughter, Gina, was among the 17 murder victims.
“I always think of Gina, I always remember her, and whether the 1200 building is there or not, we all know the tragedy that occurred on that campus,” Montalto said. “We do encourage superintendent Licata and the Broward County School Board to make sure that they work with the families of the deceased to make sure we have an appropriate memorial replacing the 1200 building, it can’t just be filled in by other parking spaces.”
The demolition itself will take a few weeks, it will not be an implosion of the building. The school district hopes that by giving everyone the timeline this far in advance, it will give people time to emotionally process the event.
Last month, the killer’s gunfire and movements were reenacted in the 1200 building, as were the movements of the lone school resource deputy on campus that day.
The video- and audio-taped reenactment was conducted for the families of those killed and survivors who have filed in all 42 lawsuits against resource deputy Scot Peterson and others.
And earlier this year, survivors and family members of the Parkland school shooting were allowed inside the building at the center of the 2018 massacre and were able to gather their loved one's belongings that were left behind that day.
