Site of Parkland Shooting to Be Torn Down

Six years after a gunman killed 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school in one of the deadliest school shootings in American history, the site of the attack is being torn down.

The demolition of the former freshman building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was scheduled to begin on Friday and was expected to take a few weeks to complete, Broward County school district officials said in a statement. Rather than using explosives, workers plan to tear down the three-story building piece by piece, officials said, starting with the top floor.

Officials had originally planned to start taking down the building on Thursday, but flooding and severe weather across South Florida delayed the start of work.

Lori Alhadeff lost her 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, in the shooting. Her 17-year-old son now attends Stoneman Douglas High, and Ms. Alhadeff says she has long been ready to see the former freshman building come down.

“It’s important for that building to be taken down, so not only can I start to heal but also the community at large,” said Ms. Alhadeff, now chair of the Broward County School Board. “That building is a reminder of the horrific tragedy where 17 people were murdered in school.”

The goal is for the demolition to be finished before school starts in August, Ms. Alhadeff said.

Fourteen students and three faculty members were killed, and 17 others were wounded, in the rampage on Feb. 14, 2018, which shook the suburban community of Parkland and the nation. The 19-year-old gunman, Nikolas Cruz, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, and he was sentenced in 2022 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.