Kamala Harris came face to face with the grim aftermath of the notorious Parkland high school massacre on Saturday as parents showed her around the 'time capsule’ where their children were shot dead.
The school building in South Florida remains as it was on Valentines Day 2018 when former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, went on the rampage with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, killing 14 students and three staff members.
The vice-president looked close to tears as she walked past parents holding pictures of their dead children to deliver a speech promoting ‘red flag laws’ introduced in the aftermath of the massacre.
‘She understands how important gun violence prevention is for us,’ said Beigel Schulman whose 35-year-old son Scott was killed as he tried to shepherd students to safety from his Geography class.
‘But when you go into the actual building and see what actually happened, it doesn't matter that it is six years later, it really does something to you.’
Vice-President Kamala Harris walked past grieving parents holding photos of their children to deliver her speech atMarjory Stoneman Douglas High School
PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS: Top Row L-R: Jaime Guttenberg, Nicholas Dworet, Martin Duque, Meadow Pollack, Cara Loughran -- Second Row L-R: Alyssa Alhadeff, Luke Hoyer, Joaquin Oliver, Gina Montalto -- Third Row L-R: Alaina Petty, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang, Alex Schachter -- Fourth Row L-R: Helena Ramsey, Scott Beigel, Aaron Feis, Chris Hixon
Harris toured the untouched classrooms and visited a memorial to the victims
The young teacher’s papers remain on his desk at the boarded-up building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School which has been preserved for a series of criminal trials, including that of school’s sheriff deputy, Scot Peterson, who was acquitted last year on charges that he failed to tackle Cruz.
The students now-outdated laptops remain open on their desks, gathering dust alongside half-eaten snacks. Bullet-ridden doors hang from their hinges in a classroom where a white board where a teacher had written 'no excuses allowed'.
It is due to finally be demolished this summer but has become a classroom in the meantime for lawmakers studying how school buildings can be made safer.
‘The building is a time capsule,’ said Rep Jared Moskowitz who attended the school himself and has shown Congressional colleagues around.
‘They learn about the failures of the building, the failures of the response to the shooting by law enforcement, the failures in the training of the teachers, the failures of threat assessments of the shooter and the failure of all the warning signs.’
Cruz, who had recently been expelled from the school fired 140 shots as he prowled the school building during his six-minute attack.
He purchased his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle a year before the killings and told his trial his planning became serious about seven months in advance as he researched previous mass shooters, saying he tried to learn from their experience.
But he had been thinking about an attack for around five years and said he picked Valentine's Day to make sure it would never be celebrated at the school again.
Nikolas Cruz was seen on security footage when he carried out his 2018 rampage.
Jurorsretraced Cruz's path on as he methodically moved from floor to floor, firing down hallways and into classrooms
Thirty-four people were shot by Cruz as he roamed the school building with his AR-15 style gun
Students were ordered to keep their hands up as they fled the school in terror
Chaos reigned as parents and relatives struggled to discover if their loved ones were alive
More than 3,000 pupils were in class as Cruz turned his weapon on the school
He bought 10 guns after turning 18, but no action was taken by local law enforcement and the FBI on reports that he was planning a mass shooting.
He became the most prolific school mass shooter to face trial after surviving the attack and was sentenced to life in jail after pleading guilty in 2021.
Florida is among 21 states that introduced ‘red flag laws’ in the aftermath of the killings, allowing courts to seize weapons from those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
Harris was in Florida to urge more states to adopt the legislation and to announce the establishment of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center.
Of all the states that have passed red flag laws, only six have taken up the offer that we have made through our administration of federal resources to help them with the training and the implementation of these red flag laws,’ she said.
‘This National Resource Center will be a place where we will provide training for local leaders on how to use red flag laws and keep communities safe.
Cruz was sentenced to life on in jail after the jury said it could not unanimously agree that the killer, pictured with Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill, should be executed
Doves were released by survivors, victims and their families to mark remember the dead
'I will continue to advocate for what we must do in terms of universal background checks and assault weapons ban’ Harris told her audience
‘So these are just some of the ways that we can learn from what happened here and of course I will continue to advocate for what we must do in terms of universal background checks and assault weapons ban.’
Max Schachter, has accompanied politicians and officials on tours of the building where his 14-year-old son Alex was killed by shots fired through his classroom window.
He told NBC Miami that all visitors recognize the importance of making school buildings safer, pointing to Utah which launched a $100 million program to bulletproof windows and doors after seeing the school.
‘I couldn't save Alex, but every time I have officials come through that building, lives are saved,’ he said.
