Photo: RHONA WISE / AFP / Getty Images
By: The opinion Published Sep 21, 2023, 8:31 pm EDT
He Parkland high school building, south Florida, where the massacre of 17 people was recorded in 2018 at the hands of a former student of that center will be demolished in mid-2024school authorities reported this Thursday.
The Broward County School District noted that Demolition of the 1200 Marjory Stoneman Douglas School building in the city of Parkland will begin in the summer of next yearonce the current 2023/2024 school year ends.
Local officials added that they made this determination after consulting health and safety experts, and in addition to taking into account “the well-being of students and staff on campus,” according to a statement from the district.
The building in question, where On February 14, 2018, young Nikolas Cruz unleashed a shootout with an AR-15 rifle and killed 17 people, including 14 students.had been preserved as a crime scene while the trials against the confessed perpetrator of the massacre and former school officer Scot Peterson were underway.
Cruz was sentenced in November 2022 to life in prison without the possibility of parole, while last June a Florida jury acquitted Peterson.
“We understand the urgency of this matter, but it is essential to prioritize safety above all else,” the school district said in its statement.
“In preparation for demolition, crews will clean and clear the building, complying with state and Environmental Protection Agency landfill disposal regulations. “As we continue to recover, we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting the Marjory Stoneman Douglas community and will provide updates as information becomes available,” he added.
Last August, A delegation of congressmen visited the Parkland school building before ballistics technicians recreated the shots fired by Cruz for judicial purposes with a semi-automatic rifle.
The purpose of the reenactment was to document the “movements and actions” of Peterson, who remained outside the building while Cruz, then 19, shot at students and staff inside.
Peterson was sued by the parents of five of the victims, who asked the judge in the case to recreate the events.
Last February marked five years since the shooting perpetrated by Cruz, who on the same day of the massacre confessed to the police to having been the author and then pleaded guilty in court to all charges and asked for forgiveness.
Cruz was spared a death sentence because there was no unanimity of the jury, a requirement that is no longer necessary in Florida, according to a new law promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis.
With information from EFE
Keep reading:
– Parents of Parkland victims ask to recreate 2018 mass shooting before demolishing building where the crime was committed
– Court of Appeals upheld the Florida law that prevents buying weapons before the age of 21
– Nikolas Cruz, author of the Parkland massacre, is sentenced to life in prison