Colorado shooting victim dies

DENVER—Claire Davis, the 17-year-old victim of last week’s school shooting in Centennial, Colo., died late Saturday afternoon. Her classmate Karl Pierson shot her in the head on Dec. 13 when he entered Arapahoe High School with a shotgun, homemade bombs, and a machete in search of a teacher he wanted to kill. The teacher escaped, but an innocent girl lost her life.

“Despite the best efforts of our physicians and nursing staff, and Claire’s fighting spirit, her injuries were too severe and the most advanced medical treatments could not prevent this tragic loss of life,” read a statement posted at 5:15 MST on Littleton Adventist Hospital’s Facebook page. “Claire’s death is immensely heartbreaking for our entire community, our staff and our families.”

Davis’ death hit the greater Denver community especially hard, where support for the Davis family and hope for the teen’s recovery were the one bright light in this tragedy. Several groups hosted fundraisers for the family, including the equestrian community, students from other high schools, and a donation fund sponsored by First Bank. Members of the community held at least two prayer vigils on Davis’ behalf, and Littleton Adventist Hospital received dozens of cards for her from well-wishers. Davis’ friends even staged an online campaign to get her favorite band, One Direction, to show support. The band responded with a short get-wellvideo.

For the past week, every news broadcast in Denver included the latest update on Davis’ condition and how to help. But during Saturday night’s 9NEWS broadcast, some breaking news came in: Claire Davis had passed away. Even the anchors couldn’t hide their sadness as they choked up reading the teleprompter.

Now that hope for Davis’ recovery has vanished, the community must find something else to put their faith in.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.