Parkland one year on: Students pause to commemorate the 17 killed at Marjory ...

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre a year ago renewed the national debate on guns and school safety, turned some victims' parents and surviving students into political activists and at least temporarily ended the local sheriff's career.

But Thursday's anniversary will primarily be about remembering the 14 students and three staff members who died in the third high-profile mass shooting in Florida since 2016. 

An interfaith service will be held at a Parkland park, near the school, to remember the victims. 

Students also will perform service projects and observe a moment of silence and a non-denominational, temporary temple will open in neighboring Coral Springs for people to pay their respects. 

The structure will eventually be burned in a purification ceremony. Security throughout the community and at schools will be high. 

Suzanne Devine Clark, an art teacher at Deerfield Beach Elementary School, places painted stones at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting on Thursday

Suzanne Devine Clark, an art teacher at Deerfield Beach Elementary School, places painted stones at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting on Thursday

A plaque for Jaime Guttenberg, one of the victims of the Parkland school shooting is shown at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the shooting

A plaque for Jaime Guttenberg, one of the victims of the Parkland school shooting is shown at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the shooting

Margate Fire Rescue Community Emergency Response Team member Peter Palmer wipes his eyes while looking at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting, Thursday

Kara Cannizzaro crosses herself after pausing at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting, Thursday

Margate Fire Rescue Community Emergency Response Team member Peter Palmer (left) wipes his eyes while looking at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as Kara Cannizzaro (right) crosses herself at the site

'We don't need (the anniversary) to remind us what happened. We live with it every day,' said businessman Andrew Pollack, whose 18-year-old daughter Meadow died in the attack. 

He met with President Donald Trump at the White House after the shooting and became an adviser to Governor Ron DeSantis and his predecessor, Rick Scott. 

Other fathers like Fred Guttenberg and Manuel Oliver have become active in Democratic politics.

David Hogg has struggled with his grief while emerging as a prominent student activist who co-founded the March for Our Lives movement.

'We can't move on from this, when it's something that never should have happened,' he told reporters this week, saying he planned to spend the day quietly with family. 'You can't move on from your sister constantly crying, every day, because she doesn't have her four best friends anymore.'

After his 14-year-old son, Alex, was shot dead in English class, Max Schachter left his work in insurance to focus on school safety. As the first anniversary approached, with his wife and other children still processing their loss, he noted there is no blueprint for getting through challenging days of mourning.

'To me, it's just another day that I don't have my little boy. Every day is hard,' he said. 'It's horrible. No one ever thinks that they're going to send their kid off to school and then they not come home.' 

Students walk to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting on Thursday

Students walk to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting on Thursday

Sandy Pohl (left) and Tom Gilmartin, both school crossing guards at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, pay their respects at a memorial set up for those killed a year ago in Parkland, Florida

Sandy Pohl (left) and Tom Gilmartin, both school crossing guards at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, pay their respects at a memorial set up for those killed a year ago in Parkland, Florida

Wendy Behrend, a school crossing guard who was on duty one year ago when a shooter opened fire in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, pays her respects at a memorial for those killed

Wendy Behrend, a school crossing guard who was on duty one year ago when a shooter opened fire in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, pays her respects at a memorial for those killed

Victims' relatives from both sides of the political aisle helped lead the successful push to remove Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. 

DeSantis suspended the Democratic sheriff last month, citing incompetence in his handling of the shooting. Israel is fighting the suspension in the state Senate and says he will try to win back the office in next year's election.

The massacre also led some Stoneman Douglas students to form the group 'March for Our Lives,' which holds rallies nationwide calling for tougher gun regulations and toured the country registering young adults to vote.

'It was the kids themselves that made Parkland an unusual shooting,' said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law and gun rights expert. 

Just in Florida, 49 people died in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando and five died at Fort Lauderdale's airport in 2017. 

There have been other notable mass shootings across the country during that period - at a Las Vegas concert, a Pittsburgh synagogue and a Texas high school. But none resonated politically like Stoneman Douglas.

'What we haven't seen is a mobilization of the students in quite the same way,' Winkler said.

A volunteer with a therapy dog arrives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting. Volunteers will also offer massages and manicures to students stressed by the memorial

A volunteer with a therapy dog arrives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting. Volunteers will also offer massages and manicures to students stressed by the memorial

Painted stones at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are shown during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. A year ago on Thursday, 14 students and three staff members were killed

Painted stones at a memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are shown during the one-year anniversary of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. A year ago on Thursday, 14 students and three staff members were killed

But Thursday will be mostly a day to push aside politics. Victims' families who have spoken publicly say they will spend the day quietly, visiting their loved one's grave or participating in low-key events like a community walk.

'We are going to simply reflect and remember,' said Tony Montalto, president of the victims' families' organization, Stand With Parkland. 'That is the best thing.' Montalto's 14-year-old daughter Gina died in the shooting.

At Stoneman Douglas, students will mark the tragedy by working on service projects. They also can receive mental health counseling and visit therapy dogs. Volunteers will provide massages and manicures.

Mickey Pope, the district's chief of student-support services, said the staff worked with mental health counselors, community groups, the victims' families and others for four months to devise a plan they believe will honor those killed and allow students and staff to mourn.

Still, many Stoneman Douglas students are skipping school. For some it's too emotional; others don't want to be in the spotlight.

Alexis Grogan, a junior, said she'll spend the day picking up beach trash, dedicating her work to those who died.

'I survived something and I don't want to waste what I call a second chance at life because those who have passed don't get that,' she said. 'We have to make a difference for them.'

In Coral Springs, San Francisco-area artist David Best will open 'The Temple of Time,' which at 1,600 square feet represents the indefinite period it will take for the community to come to grips with the slayings. It's an Asian design with a spire roof that has intricate designs cut into it.

California artist David Best talks about how he is building a non-denominational, temporary temple for the anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting massacre, on February 5 in Coral Springs, Florida

California artist David Best talks about how he is building a non-denominational, temporary temple for the anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting massacre, on February 5 in Coral Springs, Florida

Best rejected naming it 'The Temple of Healing' because he said that is impossible for the victims and their families. 

Since 2000, he has built such temples worldwide, including in Northern Ireland for those killed in political strife and in Nepal for the 2015 earthquake victims. 

Like those structures, the Stoneman Douglas temple will be burned along with

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