The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building where 17 people were killed in 2018 will be demolished, the Broward County School Board announced Thursday.
The long awaited destruction of the 1200 building is "scheduled to take place in the summer of 2024, immediately following the conclusion of the 2023/24 school year," the school board said.
The board said they reached the decision "in consultation with health and safety experts, and out of concern for the well-being of students and staff on campus." Crews will clean and clear the building before destroying it.
"We are thankful to the students, parents and staff of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as well as the Parkland community for their patience and understanding," the board's announcement said.
The building had remained largely untouched for five years after the shooting. During the trial of the shooter last year it was used as evidence — as jurors took a tour of the blood stained hallways.
It was also used as evidence in a civil suit against former school resource officer Scot Peterson.
In August, members of Congress toured the building with families of victims. That was days after relatives were able to enter and retrieve belongings of those killed.
"I won't pretend to speak for the others, but I will say for myself, when the building does come down, we need to make sure there's an appropriate memorial on that space… That is hallowed ground," said Tony Montalto who visited the building earlier this year. He lost his daughter Gina in the mass shooting.
Max Schachter, who lost his son Alex in the shooting, tweeted to his 19,000 followers that he hopes to see a memorial on the site.
"It’s been very painful driving by the site of the Parkland school shooting for the last 5 1/2 years knowing that's where Alex took his last breath," Schachter wrote on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. "I look forward to the day when there will be a beautiful memorial in its place commemorating the 17 beautiful people murdered Valentine’s Day 2018."
The three-story building housing 9th grade classes stood as tragic reminder of the horrific shooting. Portable classrooms were set up on campus to house freshman classes.
The school board did not indicate what they’ll do with the land.
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