After a gunman killed 17 people on the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida this week, state lawmakers have announced that they hope to remove the building in which all of the fatal shootings occurred. HuffPost reports that several state senators announced that they plan to provide the resources the school district would require to demolish the high school’s Building 12 and build a new series of classrooms. They also plan to create a memorial on campus in honor of the shooting’s victims.
Speaking to the Miami Herald on Friday after visiting the school the day before, Republican Sen. Bill Galvano said, “This building has to come down. Everything was strewn across the halls from people running and dodging and there was significant blood splatters on the wall. Like someone took a milk jug and explored it…It will still be very difficult for students to return. But that particular building should be razed, and the memory of the perpetrator erased and a memorial honoring the victims and their families be put in its place.”
#BREAKING: Broward County Public Schools is reportedly planning to tear down the freshman building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed in Wednesday’s mass shooting. https://t.co/fDGhjcPDau pic.twitter.com/jm1fTomGqA
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) February 16, 2018
Replacing Building 12, which is the newest on the school campus and serves approximately 900 of more than 3000 students, is estimated to cost between $25 million and $30 million. While Broward Country Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie shared hopes of reopening the school soon, it’s still unknown to the public where students who use Building 12 would go if the structure is destroyed and then reconstructed.
Runcie plans to work with state senators to earn enough money to make these changes to campus. He also announced that teachers will likely return to school before students and that a decision regarding the school’s reopening may be released this weekend.
At an anti-gun rally held in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, several Stoneman Douglas students passionately spoke about other lawmakers’ responses to the country’s gun violence. Students Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, who previously spoke to CNN about the country needing action, both called for improved gun safety laws in the wake of last Wednesday’s shooting.
“We call BS!” Student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School leads chant on lawmakers’ responses to gun violence after school shooting. pic.twitter.com/WWZbholafb
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 17, 2018
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg speaks at a rally asking to improve firearm safety legislation in the wake of the deadly shooting at his school: “Thank you for your prayers and condolences but that is not enough.” https://t.co/zgseW8WlkM pic.twitter.com/qF1ESj65vj
— ABC News (@ABC) February 17, 2018