Demolishing schools after a mass shooting has become common enough that a federal grant process is available, according to Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez. That such a process even exists is depressing, Gutierrez told KSAT-TV in May. “What kind of world do we live in where legislation was created to tear down these schools?” he said. Other schools have also gone the route of destroying buildings after a mass tragedy. “In many cases, these schools are closed or completely renovated in an effort to reduce the traumatic reminders that have been made for community members,” said the Center for Violence Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It is not clear when Robb Elementary School will be torn down and if it will be replaced with another school or if a monument or other building will be replaced. In the meantime, survivors of the attack will attend classes at other schools in the school district. The district’s superintendent, Hal Harrell, has drawn up plans to make schools safer. But some families still don’t feel comfortable returning and are transferring to other districts or taking online classes. A total of 416 students have transferred out of the district and 136 have enrolled in virtual education, according to KSAT-TV. Here’s a look at what happened at other schools after terrifying attacks:
Sandy Hook Elementary School
Date of attack: December 14, 2012 Location: Newtown, Connecticut Number of victims: 26 (including 20 children aged 6 and 7 and six adults) What happened to the school: The entire school was leveled and rebuilt. Three weeks after the horrific attack, Sandy Hook students traveled to the nearby town of Monroe and began attending classes at Chalk Hill Middle School, which was no longer in use as a high school. Four years after the massacre, a newly rebuilt Sandy Hook Elementary School has opened to students — including fourth-graders who were kindergartners during the bloodbath.
Columbine High School
Date of attack: April 20, 1999 Location: Littleton, Colorado Number of victims: 13 (including 12 students and one teacher) What happened at the school: Columbine High School was closed for the rest of the school year. Officials said the attack destroyed about 23,000 square feet of the school and left about 900 to 1,000 bullet holes and shrapnel in the walls and ceilings. Four months later, at the start of the new school year, most of the school reopened — except for the library, where most of the carnage took place. It was demolished and replaced with a newly built school library, named the Hope Library.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Date of attack: February 14, 2018 Location: Parkland, Florida Number of victims: 17 (including 14 students and three staff members) What happened at the school: Students returned to campus two weeks after the massacre. But the school’s building 12, where most of the victims were killed, was sealed off behind emergency tape with its windows covered. A new building later replaced the temporary classrooms used by students in the aftermath of the massacre.
Santa Fe High School
Date of attack: May 18, 2018 Location: Santa Fe, Texas Number of victims: 10 (including eight students and two teachers) What happened at school: Students returned 11 days after the bloodshed. Even though there were only two days left in the school year, senior Kaitlyn Richards said she didn’t want her high school career to end with the massacre. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be ready to go back to school,” he told CNN’s KTRK when day school resumed. “But I don’t want this last day to be my last memory of my senior year. I just want to know that I can see all my classmates again.” CNN’s Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.
