Students Head Back to Marjory Stoneman Douglas

And the healing has begun.

Students headed back to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. today, for the first time since an ex-classmate walked in a began shooting, slaughtering 17 people and triggering an angry wave of gun control protests that has rippled across the United States.

Some students feel it’s too soon to return and others think it’s a necessary step in the healing process. “I think we’re just going to sit in class and all cry together, and, like, just hug each other and know that everyone else is OK in that class,” Junior Macie Chapman told NPR.

LIVE: Students are returning to school 2 weeks after 17 people were killed at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School.
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Staff members returned to the school last Friday and some students and parents were went to the campus on Sunday to attend an orientation to discuss plans for resuming classes.

Senior Julien Decoste told ABC News he lost his best friend, Joaquin Oliver, and was unsure if would go back today.

“I know Joaquin would want me to go to finish my high school year,” he said. “But I’m not mentally ready yet.”

Dozens of police officers will guard the school and classes will be held for only four hours to help students ease back into a situation that will obviously be emotionally charged.

The building in which the shooting took place will remain closed and off limits. Florida officials are considering plans to demolish it.