The brother of one of the victims of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting said he’s glad the building where the 2018 mass murder took place has been demolished.
Demolition began Friday on Building 1200 of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where suspect Nikolas Cruz killed 14 students and three adults in the Valentine’s Day shooting and injured 17 others in Cruz’s rampage, the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
Hunter Pollack, whose sister, Meadow, was one of the students killed, said the building is a constant reminder of the horrific tragedy.
“Every day I drive by that building it breaks my heart. It makes me sick because it reminds me of my sister who was killed on the third floor. It makes me angry because it could have been prevented and it wasn’t,” Pollack, 26, told Fox News Digital.
“I believe the building should be demolished. We will never forget Meadow’s passing and, of course, she will forever be in our hearts.”
Parkland school shooting reenactment enrages some residents, but victims say it’s necessary
People watch as demolition begins on the building where 17 people were killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on June 14, 2024. On February 14, 2018, a 19-year-old former student opened fire at the school, killing 17 people and wounding 17 others. (Giorgio Biera/AFP via Getty Images)
Building 1200 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland remains a painful reminder of that tragic day and a nightmarish backdrop for current students studying in a new building next door on campus that replaces the temporary classrooms students used in the years after the massacre.
The building sat frozen in time for years, with bullet-riddled walls and dried bloodstains on the floors, while Cruz’s case and that of Parkland school security officer Scott Peterson were heard in court.
Workers use heavy machinery to demolish Building 1200 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Friday, June 14, 2024, in Parkland, Florida. On Feb. 14, 2018, gunmen entered the school and killed 17 people. (Miami Herald)
Cruz was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2022, while Peterson was acquitted last year of felony child abuse and other criminal charges for not entering the building, engaging the shooter or helping the victims during the six-minute riot.
However, the 1200 Building is currently undergoing demolition, a process that is expected to take several weeks. Heavy rains in Florida prevented demolition from starting on Thursday as originally planned.
Broward County Public Schools said all items requested by survivors, family members of victims, teachers and staff have been returned.
Jury recommends life in prison, not death penalty for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz
Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resource officer Scott Peterson reacts as he was acquitted of all charges in Broward County Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 29, 2023. Peterson was found not guilty of child abuse and other charges for failing to act during the Parkland school massacre, in which 14 students and three staff members were killed. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via The Associated Press, Pool)
Pollack said the 1200 building is in a prominent location in the neighborhood at the intersection of Holmberg and Pine Island, so there is a fence around it because residents walk past it every day.
“We don’t need that building there. It’s just a negative thing for our community,” Pollack said.
“Especially for the kids that go to that school and for people that live in Parkland that weren’t necessarily affected by this tragedy, but I have to be reminded of that every time I drive by that building. So I’m 100 percent in favor of tearing that building down. It’s time for some closure in our community. Having that building there doesn’t mean any closure.”
On June 14, 2024, demolition work began on the building where 17 people were killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. On February 14, 2018, a 19-year-old former student opened fire at the school, killing 17 people and wounding 17 others. (Giorgio Biera/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s unclear what will become of the site once the building is demolished.
“I think we can build a beautiful memorial, but if we don’t build anything, I’m fine with that,” Pollack said.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the Broward County School Board and other local governments and elected officials to make that decision, but it’s not fair to the rest of the community to be constantly reminded of such a horrific tragedy that occurred in Parkland.”
Mariana Rocha looks at a photo of her cousin Joaquin Oliver (right) as she holds her son Jackson during a memorial service marking the fifth anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2023. The shooting at the school on Feb. 14, 2018, left 14 students and three faculty and staff dead. (Saul Martinez/Getty Images)
Some families toured the building to see the spot where their loved ones were killed, as did Vice President Kamala Harris and some lawmakers.
But others, including Pollack, said it would have been too painful for Cruz to watch his sister innocently killed after wandering around the third floor of a classroom building.
“I first saw the footage of the shooting in December 2023 and it reminded me of the kind of scenes you see in war movies and documentaries,” Pollack said. “It was absolutely horrific. For me, after seeing the footage of what happened, I didn’t want to walk around there.”
Pollack said Cruz was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and multiple magazines and shot his sister, Meadow, nine times. After a 9-3 split jury spared Cruz the death penalty, Pollack successfully argued to eliminate the unanimity jury requirement in death penalty cases.
Police evacuate students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, during the 2018 shooting. (AP/South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
“You can see right away, when you look at the videos and the pictures that I’ve seen, that it’s horrible,” Pollack said. “If you can compare it to what’s going on in places like Israel and Gaza, I would say yes, because these kids were killed with AR-15s. My sister was shot nine times. I saw it on camera. It was horrible.”
“There was blood everywhere in that building. It was like something out of a horror movie.”
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“I spoke to a clerk who worked at the law firm and he said when he saw the footage of what happened he had to take a break because he was vomiting and crying. It was really disgusting and there was blood in the building. It was chaos. It’s something you can’t imagine unless you’ve seen the footage and pictures and walked through the building yourself.”
“That’s why I think it would be best if that building was demolished and the community could have a fresh start, because the community deserves a fresh start.”
