PARKLAND, Fla. – Families of the victims and survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre were allowed back into the 1200 building Wednesday where the shooting occurred, News4JAX partner station WPLG reported.
The crime scene has remained unaltered since Valentine’s Day 2018, the day of the shooting — but the building is slated to be demolished now that criminal proceedings are over.
Families had the choice to visit.
“Not everybody wants to go,” said Debbi Hixon, who lost her husband Chris, MSD’s athletic director, in the shooting.
Tony Montalto was one of the parents who chose to visit the scene. He lost his daughter, Gina, that day.
“Entering the building where my daughter was shot was one of the top five hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” Montalto said. “Superseded, of course, by seeing her cold body.”
Montalto, recounting the visit, said he saw the shooter’s “attempted sniper’s nest.”
He described what it was like to walk the hallways.
“I was able to see how close the failed Deputy (Scot) Peterson was,” Montalto said. “He may not be a criminal but his actions were certainly cowardly.”
The week prior, Peterson was found not guilty of child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury charges after taking cover during and after the massacre.
Hunter Pollack, who lost his sister Meadow in the mass murder, said in a statement, “There is no standard on how to grieve the vicious murder of your child or sibling, each person should do what will help them find closure & if touring the 1200 will help them, they should have the option to do so. However, I will likely opt out of it.”
Montalto said the visit did not bring closure.
“It’s just another step in the process,” he said. “I’ll never close out Gina. She’ll always be my firstborn, my only daughter.”
The building will return to the custody of the Broward County school district prior to its demolition.