PARKLAND, Fla. – State lawmakers entered the 1200 Building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Saturday morning for what will likely be the final time as it is set to be demolished next summer.
The demolition comes five years after the 2018 mass shooting inside the building that left 14 students and three staff members dead.
A Local 10 News crew was outside of the 1200 building where law enforcement officers were present for the tour.
Authorities told Local 10 News that Saturday will be the last day that lawmakers will be able to tour the building that is known as the Parkland shooting crime scene that has been preserved as evidence by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Family members of the victims, lawmakers, and more were able to see the building’s blood-stained hallways and bullet-riddled classrooms.
Max Schacter, the father of Alex Schacter, who was one of the 17 victims who died on Valentine’s Day of 2018, is leading the effort on Saturday.
“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.
Over 200 people from 25 states toured the building.
“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 the building,” said Debbi Hixon, wife of Chris Hixon who was killed in the shooting.
Schacter is an advocate for school safety and has sponsored bills that would improve the safety of students all around the world such as longer wait periods for guns, proper background checks and more.
Lawmakers were expected to hold another meeting Saturday to discuss even more work together on both sides of the aisle in order to make school safety a priority not only in South Florida but across the country.