Current:Home > ScamsMarjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting site visited one last time by lawmakers and educators -Stellar Wealth Sphere
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting site visited one last time by lawmakers and educators
View
Date:2025-04-16 13:35:12
Florida lawmakers and education leaders from several states on Saturday took what is likely the final tour of a building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a former student shot 17 people to death and wounded 17 others on Valentine's Day 2018.
The 1200 Building is scheduled to be demolished next summer, the local school district announced last month.
Authorities told WPLG-TV that Saturday was the last day for people to tour the building, which has been preserved as evidence by the Broward Sheriff's Office.
"It's where 17 people were brutally murdered, and the building has to come down," Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was killed, told CBS affiliate WFOR. "It needs to happen because there would never be education going on in that building."
Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son Alex Schachter was killed in the massacre, led Saturday's tour.
"I wanted to have as many people, leaders of school districts around the country, to come to the building and understand the failures and lessons learned," he said.
People from 25 states, including school board members, superintendents and national Parent Teacher Association members, went on the tour to see how they could make schools safer, WFOR-TV reported.
In July, families of the victims were allowed to go inside the locked building. Members of Congress were among those who toured it in August.
Classes have long-since resumed at the Stoneman Douglas campus while the building with bullet-riddled and blood-splattered walls remained locked off. Community members have been calling for its demolition for years, but prosecutors said they needed to preserve it as evidence for the shooter's murder trial.
On Feb. 14, 2018, former student Nikolas Cruz went with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle to the campus, where he killed 14 students and three staff members and wounded 17 other people. He pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced last year to life in prison.
Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina Montalto was shot to death, has been president of Stand with Parkland, which represents most of the victims' families. He said Saturday that the school should have had stronger doors with bullet-resistant glass.
Chris Hixon, the school's athletic director and wrestling coach, was killed when he ran toward Cruz and tried to stop the shooting. His widow, Debbi Hixon, said safety measures could have saved lives.
"To really know the true story, to see what actually happened, and to know what the failures were is really the point of being able to go through that building," she said Saturday.
- In:
- School Shooting
- Florida
- Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
veryGood! (64496)
Related
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- What is the birthstone for August? These three gems represent the month of August.
- He helped craft the 'bounty hunter' abortion law in Texas. He's just getting started
- As Climate Change Threatens Midwest’s Cultural Identity, Cities Test Ways to Adapt
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Ariana Madix Shares Surprising Take on Vanderpump Rules' Scandoval Reunion Drama
- Keystone XL Wins Nebraska Approval, But the Oil Pipeline Fight Isn’t Over
- Italian Oil Company Passes Last Hurdle to Start Drilling in U.S. Arctic Waters
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- This Oil Control Mist Is a Must for Anyone Who Hates Sweaty and Shiny Skin
Ranking
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Trump wants the death penalty for drug dealers. Here's why that probably won't happen
- Meet the 3 Climate Scientists Named MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ Fellows
- Does Walmart Have a Dirty Energy Secret?
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- The Texas Lawyer Behind The So-Called Bounty Hunter Abortion Ban
- Industrial Strength: How the U.S. Government Hid Fracking’s Risks to Drinking Water
- Judge to unseal identities of 3 people who backed George Santos' $500K bond
Recommendation
South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
Keystone XL Wins Nebraska Approval, But the Oil Pipeline Fight Isn’t Over
Judge Deals Blow to Tribes in Dakota Access Pipeline Ruling
WHO ends global health emergency declaration for COVID-19
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
The Voice’s Niall Horan Wants to Give This Goodbye Gift to Blake Shelton
How Nick Cannon Addressed Jamie Foxx's Absence During Beat Shazam Premiere
Fracking Study Finds Low Birth Weights Near Natural Gas Drilling Sites