February 14, 2026

Remembering Parkland Shooting Victims

Eight Years Since the Tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Today marks eight years since the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Remembering Parkland Shooting Victims: While time has moved forward on the calendar, it has not moved forward in the hearts of the families or in the quiet moments of those of us who have walked that campus and seen, up close, what evil leaves behind.

Personal Reflection and Legal Involvement

For those who know me personally, you know why this case stays with me. It is not an abstract policy debate or a headline I reference in speeches or o testimony. Since the first day I stepped back onto that campus as a representative of many families, serving as a consultant and expert witness in this “different” capacity across multiple law firms, my life has been permanently altered. Following three more visits inside that crime scene and time capsule of unspeakable horrors, I would go on to recreate the shooting from inside that building for another aspect of that legal case. While I cannot say more about that work at present, I will tell you that nothing in my life prepared me for what I experienced when I walked those hallways again, years later, and tried to reconstruct those moments.

Before that date, and up to the present, it is the first time an active shooter event was recreated with the same firearm, same ammunition (live bullets, not blanks), well, that changed me. It did strip a lot of trivial nonsense away in my life. And I will tell you this: it forces you to cherish time differently, let go of petty concerns, and become hyper-focused on where you spend your energy and attention.

Honoring the 17 Lives Lost and 17 Wounded

This post is not about me, but it is about honoring all 17 of the deceased victims, and the other 17 who were also shot and wounded. Official records list 15 children and three adults, but one of those adults had just recently turned 18, and in my heart, I have always counted 16 children and two adults. Those are the nuances that haunt me somehow… Almost everyone I have met, encountered, or otherwise directly and sometimes even indirectly involved in this case carries both physical and emotional scars that few can understand and should not have to. The hardest toll is interacting with the families who represent a future that should have unfolded differently.

Remembering and Acting

I pray that you take a minute today to remember them, pray for the grieving families, and then say an extra prayer for them. And if you feel compelled to act, help us move closer to Destination #NEVERHERE™ we could use your help.

The P.R.O. Model™ (Prevention. Response. Options.) and Prevention Infrastructure

A significant portion of how the P.R.O. Model™ (Prevention. Response. Options.) was developed came from working this case as a consultant. It exposed, in undeniable clarity, the consequences of a system that focuses almost exclusively on response instead of prevention. We have trained for eight minutes after violence begins; we have not built infrastructure strong enough to handle incidents over the past 27 years, nor have we studied them to help change others’ outcomes. This vision was learned in those hallways with unspeakable details that no one should ever have to see, ever!

Commitment to Prevention and Accountability

Until we can translate the message of prevention without grief driving it and without ego distorting it, there is still much work ahead. But that is the train we are on, and there is no stop and no quit. Accountability and memories matter to honor these 17 lives lost, and 17 others wounded, with countless others affected, which means refusing to accept that this is simply the cost of doing nothing differently.

Today, we remember them with reverence; tomorrow, we continue the work so that no other families have to carry what they have carried for eight long years.

 

 

Chris Grollnek

Active Shooter Expert

Remembering Parkland Shooting Victims File #298524