Demolition Begins on Parkland School Building

A crew will start demolishing the Parkland school building where 17 people died in the 2018 shooting. Families of victims can participate. The building was preserved as evidence until the shooter's sentencing. Similar actions were taken after other school shootings. The future use of the site remains undecided.

A crew is set to commence the demolition of the three-story classroom building at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 lives were tragically lost in the 2018 mass shooting.

The families of the victims have been invited to witness the initial stages and even contribute by hammering off a piece themselves. Officials aim to conclude the project before the 3,300 students return in August. These students were mostly in elementary school at the time of the shooting.

The building had been maintained to serve as evidence during the shooter's 2022 trial. Jurors toured its bullet-riddled and blood-stained halls, ultimately sentencing him to life without parole. This procedure follows precedents set by other schools affected by mass shootings, including Sandy Hook, Robb Elementary, and Columbine.

Over the past year, relatives of victims have guided various officials and invitees on tours through the building, highlighting improved safety measures like bullet-resistant glass, advanced alarm systems, and doors that lock from the inside. The tours, described as gut-wrenching, revealed a haunting time capsule from February 14, 2018, with textbooks and laptops left open on desks and wilted Valentine's Day flowers amid broken glass.

The future of the site remains uncertain. While some teachers suggest converting it into a practice field connected by a landscaped pathway to a memorial, parents of some victims advocate for it to become a memorial site itself.

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