Part of roof collapses at a Broward middle school, forcing students out of the building

An Oakland Park middle school was evacuated Friday after the roof of the media center collapsed, according to Broward County Public Schools.

The media center at James S. Rickards Middle, 6000 NE Ninth Ave., had been under construction. There was a water leak, but it was not immediately clear if that was the cause of the collapse, said Shannon Vezina, a spokeswoman for Oakland Park.

No one was in the media center at the time of the collapse and no one was injured, the school district said.

Twelve people were taken to a hospital for anxiety and other issues, Vezina said.

All students and staff have been relocated to Northeast High School.

This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 12:10 PM.

Carli Teproff

Miami Herald

305-376-3587

Carli Teproff grew up in Northeast Miami-Dade and graduated from Florida International University in 2003. She became a full-time reporter for the Miami Herald in 2005 and now covers breaking news.