A lock of dark hair remains on a floor more than four years after a victim’s body was removed. Valentine’s Day gifts and cards are strewn about, as shards of glass crunch under guests’ feet. Those are the disturbing notes from a group of reporters who were allowed into the building after jurors finished their tour to give details to media outlets across the country, including CNN.
first floor
We entered by the east staircase as Cruz did. In the stairwell where Cruz assembled his gun is a dirty white teddy bear and two small Valentine’s Day gift bags. In the stairwell where Cruz entered and assembled his gun, a white teddy bear was soiled on the floor next to a bag with Valentine’s hearts on it, likely dropped by a runaway student. Everywhere you walk throughout the building there are shards of broken safety glass that crackle loudly as you walk over them. They are especially strong and crisp on the threshold of any door.
ROOM 1218
English lesson by Brittany Sinitch: No one was killed or injured here, but this is where Cruz fired first. The textbooks on the desks were open to a section discussing Mercutio. A Valentine teddy bear was on a desk. A 2017 Stoneman Douglas football poster was on the wall — team photo with the slogan: Faith Family Football. A pink note wishing Happy Valentine’s Day sat on a desk next to a worksheet belonging to student Sarah Lewis. A clear plastic drinking cup sat half full on a desk, its contents now a dark brown sludge. On a desk a Valentine’s Day card that reads “I don’t just like you, I really, really like you.”
ROOM 1215
Study room led by Spanish teacher Juletta Matlock: There is dried blood outside the door where Luke Hoyer, Martin Duque and Gina Montalto were killed. Just inside the door, some headphones with a long cord lay on the floor. The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” remains on a desk. On the wall is a poster titled “Let’s Guac About It” with basic Spanish words: Padre, Madre, Abuelo, Abuela.” On another wall is a poster with common Spanish phrases and colors.
ROOM 1213 — AP Psychology Course by Ronit Reoven:
On the far wall away from the door is a table with a large pool of blood on it. This is where Carmen Schentrup died from a bullet to the head. She and the children hid behind the teacher’s desk, located in the southeast corner of the room. In front of the desk where Maddie Wilford lay hurt, the teacher’s office phone was on the floor. On the walls behind the desk are photos of the teacher’s family and an 8 X 10 drawing of President Trump with the saying “We will win in everything we do.” On the north wall is a bulletin board with about two dozen wallet-sized photos of students. A lone white sneaker remains on the floor.
CORRIDOR – SITE HIXON
Hixon, after being shot through the west door, hid in an alcove in front of the elevator about 20 feet from the door. Cruz shot him a second time as he walked by, but he remained alive and spent about 10 minutes trying to get up, according to video played in court. There is a large bloodstain on the floor and on the wall. A black rubber shoe, possibly a Croc, was on the floor there.
Room 1214 — “The Holocaust Room” – Teacher Ivy Schamis’ room
Taught Holocaust Studies. Nick Dworet and Helena Ramsay died here. The board has the hashtag #TogetherWeRemember. There are also references to eyewitness accounts. On a table are two yellowed Sun Sentinel newspapers, there are bullet marks on the desks, laptops still open, headphones and a bottle of water still on a desk. On the floor is a throwaway 2017-2018 school year plan. Blood marks where Dworet and Ramsay died. Their blood covers a book called “Tell Them We Remember” by Susan Bachrach and “Listen to the Wind” by Greg Mortenson. There is a Holocaust sign on a bulletin board with the words “we will never lose never”. One desk had a white plug and headphones on top. Indicating the rapid manner in which it all unfolded The learning objective on the board “To know the world and its environment”.
Room 1216
No class had as many of those killed and injured as Dara Hash’s English class. A blue envelope with Alaina Petty’s name still on the desk – right behind it – between the teacher’s desk and the wall is a large bloodstain. Bullet holes in the walls. Right next to the bloodstain on the floor where Alyssa Alhadeff and Alaina Petty died – is a handwritten note about Malala Yousafzai – “the girl who wanted to go to school” – the paper goes on to say “a bullet went straight through her head, but not her brain’ ending with ‘In conclusion, we humans must have freedom for education’. (Note: Malala is the Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban – she has campaigned to support access to education for girls and women). The essays the students wrote remain on their desks, never to be retrieved. “We go to school every day of the week and take it all for granted,” one student wrote. “We cry and complain without knowing how lucky we are to be able to learn.” A previous work is displayed on the cabinet doors. It shows tombstones with epitaphs written by the students. “RIP It’s beautiful here.” “RIP This is funny.” “RIP It sits nicely here.” Next to a shoe on the ground is a pink stuffed animal for Valentine’s Day and balloons. Blood pooling looks aged, dark, wrinkled, flaky. The desks are covered in a thin layer of dust, a landline phone lies upside down on the ground. In Alex Schachter’s office – a bloodstain on the other side of the silver rod connecting the plastic seat to the desk.
WEST STAIRCASE
Near the west stairs – where Hixon was shot – is a discarded shoe.
SECOND FLOOR – CORRIDOR OFFERS
Offer in the corridor between rooms 1221 and 1229 “Dream like you’re going to live forever and live like you’re going to die today.” -James Dean Further down the corridor it reads: “Never live in the past, but always Lear from it.” – Anonymous
Room 1230
A large box of Valentine’s Day chocolates in the shape of a heart on a desk. In the other an open pen and pencil case. Room 1232 Calculators still on desks, spiral notebooks still open for math, students working on algebra problems. Room 1231 Grouped offices “Class of 2018” photos of students in casual settings (not official photos). THIRD FLOOR
Room 1256, Scott Beigel’s classroom:
Entering the corridor from the stairs on the east side, the first thing you see is a pool of congealed blood that is much smaller than others. This is where Scott Beigel’s body fell in front of classroom 1256. Unlike other rooms, the window in his door is intact. Bagel died holding the door open. His body stopped the door from closing. The kids hiding in the front of his room were vulnerable, but Cruz didn’t choose to walk into it. Placemat-sized plastic world maps on most desks. There were three wall clocks lying face down next to the door. On Beigel’s desk were worksheets comparing Christianity and Islam. On the board, notes about the medal winners of the 2018 Winter Olympics. A deflated Valentine’s Day balloon lay on the ground.
Room 1255, Stacey Lippel’s class:
The door is pushed open — like others to indicate Cruz shot through it — and a “No Bully Zone” hangs inside. The creative writing task for the day is written on the board: “How to write the perfect love letter.”
The teacher’s desk is on the left and one can imagine students huddled behind it. The desks are in disarray, some pressed against each other in what testimony described as a mad rush to get back inside. Atop a desk is an enviable Valentine’s Day spread — a large gift bag stuffed with tissues, a box of round, silver-wrapped candies and a heart-shaped box.
Walking down the aisle, dry, cracked rose petals mixed with broken glass give a cinematic feel to the scene. There is a large pool of blood in the middle of the third floor hallway where Anthony Borges was injured. A sign above the fountains has a quote from Star Wars’ Yoda: “Do or do not. There is no attempt.”
Below the faucets, three large pools of dried blood mark the spots where authorities dragged the bodies of Kara Loughran, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver. A faint trail of blood traces the path of the girls’ bodies from the alcove where their bodies fell after being shot. A pool of blood is seen in the alcove outside 1249 where Pollack and Loughran died. They remained there injured as the rest of the group huddled in the alcove with Ernie Rospierski fled down the hall. Then Cruz came back and shot them again.
ROOM 1249, Ernie Rospierski
There is an unfinished game of chess. A friend of Peter Yang testified that they were playing a game when the fire alarm went off.
Room 1250
Valentine’s Day balloons, flower petals, stuffed white bear. One of the most disturbing sights is the alcove outside the bathroom where Joaquin Oliver died. There is a large pool of blood and bullet holes fired at him at close range. There are drops of blood leading to the socket from the first shots where he was injured. But most of the blood is from when Cruz caught Oliver in the alcove and shot. We know from the evidence that Oliver was conscious after the impact. He couldn’t run when the others fled. He heard Cruz coming. He heard the shots at Pollack and Loughran. He knew he was next. We know from testimony that he held his hands up to protect himself. Two bullets on the wall show how futile this effort was. There is a tuft of dark hair on the floor near where his body would have been. The corner of a paper Valentine’s Day decoration (maybe it was a card) has collapsed, possibly soaked in blood Walking down the hallway toward the west wall, bullets ricocheted off the south walls, an indication that Cruz was targeting the fleeing students and not just randomly firing ahead…
