PARKLAND, Fla. _ A tree planted outside City Hall. A moment of silence. An act of kindness.
Throughout South Florida, tens of thousands of people are gathering in schools, parks and workplaces Thursday to take part in special activities to remember and honor the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre one year later.
The students and staff killed in one of the worst school shootings in the country were Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Scott Beigel, 35; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Aaron Feis, 37; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Christopher Hixon, 49; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alexander Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; Peter Wang, 15.
A moment of silence was observed at 10:17 a.m., a time chosen to honor the 17 who died. In some places, a second moment of silence will be at 2:21 p.m., the time the shooting started.
Superintendent Robert Runcie spoke to a gaggle of reporters outside the Parkland school, repeating a practice that became common in the first days after the shooting. But unlike before, there were no School Board members at his side.
He said he believes the community can heal by people putting aside differences. "Although we mourn the lives that we lost through a horrific act of hate and anger, I also believe we must celebrate the possibilities of what can be through love and support," he said.
He made no mention of the push for stricter gun laws, a talking point that put him at odds with some conservative families at Stoneman Douglas. He had voiced a robocall the day before asking parents to not allow students to participate in walkouts for gun violence, a 180-degree turn from last spring, when he praised the students' activism.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset at all local and state buildings, installations and grounds throughout the state.
Events honor Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School victims and survivors
"On this solemn day, our state mourns the lives of the seventeen souls lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one year ago," DeSantis said Thursday. "Since that tragic day, the Parkland community has demonstrated tremendous courage and resiliency, reminding us just how strong and united Floridians can be in the face of such devastating loss."
In Coconut Creek, which borders Parkland, more than 120 people gathered Thursday morning on the grounds of City Hall for a tree planting ceremony in honor of the 17 victims.
The "Tree of Life," a 20-year-old lignum vitae donated by a nursery in Homestead, is just one small way to honor the 17 whose lives were lost, Vice Mayor Sandra Welch told the crowd.
That fateful day is a reminder to us all that life is fragile, Welch said.
"Don't put off to tomorrow what you can say or do today," she said. "And to our children, give them all the hugs you can every single day."
Coconut Creek Commissioner Becky Tooley urged everyone to love one another "every darn day" and to remember those who are still in pain from the events of that day.
"They need our love and they need our hope," she said. "Because without hope, we can't have healing."
Coconut Creek resident Norm Shulman, his tiny dog Monte in tow, watched the ceremony.
"Most of my friends have kids who went to Stoneman Douglas," he said. "It was a shot in the heart for everybody. I wanted to pay my respects and pray that it doesn't ever happen again."
Candlelight vigils are planned across South Florida, including Pine Trails Park near Stoneman Douglas High.
At 5:45 p.m., the city of Parkland will host a 30-minute interfaith ceremony at the park expected to draw thousands. Throughout the day, therapy dogs and counselors will be onsite at the park, 10559 Trails End.
Broward school officials have designated Feb. 14 as a Day of Service and Love at Stoneman Douglas and schools throughout the district. Security was heightened in all district schools, and activities were restricted to internal parts of campuses.
Thursday afternoon students and staff from Stoneman Douglas will gather at Pine Trails Park to help assemble meal kits for Minnesota-based Feed My Starving Children to help feed malnourished children in more than 70 countries around the world.
"But from this tragedy, our community has found ways to turn their pain into artistic expression and activism," U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, the Democrat whose district includes Parkland, said in a statement. "The courageous families have started foundations and non-profits, worked through local and state government and school administration, all in their work to make sure such tragedy never befalls another family or community."
A team from the Coconut Creek-based charity Food For The Poor will help pack meals at the event hosted by its longtime partner Feed My Starving Children.
Volunteers hope to pack more than 700,000 meals on Thursday and Friday.
Food For The Poor employee Denise Michael, whose daughter graduated from Stoneman Douglas last year, plans to help pack meals on what for many will be a difficult and painful day.
"We need something like this to unite us instead of divide us," she said. "It's a peaceful way to help poor children in other countries. It's going to be emotional."
