The building where the Parkland school massacre occurred is set to be demolished next summer

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — The South Florida school building where 14 students and three staff members were fatally shot in a 2018 massacre will be demolished next summer, officials announced Thursday.

The demolition of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s 1200 building, which has remained closed and locked behind a fence since the Parkland shooting, is scheduled to take place immediately after the end of the school year, Broward County Public Schools said in a statement.

“We understand the urgency of this matter, but it is essential to prioritize safety above all else,” it said. “In preparation for the demolition, crews will clean and clear the building, adhering to state and the Environmental Protection Agency’s landfill disposal regulations.”

Classes have long-since resumed at the Stoneman Douglas campus while the building with bullet-riddled and blood-splattered walls remained. Members of the community have been calling for its demolition for years, but prosecutors said they needed to preserve it as evidence for the murder trial of the shooter.

On Feb. 14, 2018, former student Nikolas Cruz went with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle to the campus, where he killed the 17 people and wounded 17 others. He pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison last year.