1st Day Of School At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, 6 Months After Mass Shooting

Students arrive Wednesday for their first day back at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, six months after the fatal shootings of Feb. 14.

As students arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for the start of the new school year on Wednesday, they found a tall new fence surrounding the perimeter, banners draped along the exterior willing them to be “#MSDStrong,” and a fresh coat of burgundy paint in the hallways.

Each in its own way was an attempt to mark the setting as a place of learning and reassure its occupants of a fortified safety within its walls.

At a news conference held on the school lawn, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie called it a “bittersweet day.”