Colorado School Shooting: Girl Remains in Critical Condition

Amaury · Dec 15, 2013

Is it just me or is Colorado famous for shootings?

Anyway, I'm glad there were no deaths.

Colorado School Shooting: Girl Remains in Critical Condition

Source: ABC News

Published: 12/15/2013

ABC News said:

A 17-year-old high school student was battling for her life Sunday as Colorado officials tried to understand why a fellow student shot her and tried to shoot his debate coach last week.

Two days after the incident at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, the wounded student, Claire Davis, remained in critical condition Sunday afternoon at Littleton Adventist Hospital, spokeswoman Lauren Brendel told the Los Angeles Times.

Brendel said she had no information about Davis' prognosis.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in an appearance on CBS' "Face The Nation" on Sunday, said Davis was in a coma after a shotgun blast hit her in the face and that he had visited her and her family in the hospital.

"Her parents are two of the most wonderful people you could ever hope to meet," Hickenlooper said. "You know, they adopted her. I mean, they are besides themselves, and, really, we all have to keep Claire in our thoughts and our prayers. Her parents ... I can't imagine what they're going through. It's unspeakable."

Davis may not have been a premeditated target, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said at a Saturday news conference. She was in "the wrong place at the wrong time" as Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, stalked through the high school with a shotgun on Friday, he said.

The pair didn't appear to interact before Pierson shot her, Robinson said. Pierson unsuccessfully searched the school for a librarian who had been his debate coach, authorities said, before he killed himself in the library after setting off a Molotov cocktail that set bookshelves ablaze.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat who pushed successfully for universal background checks for in-state gun purchases and for limited magazine sizes, was almost at a loss in his "Face the Nation" interview Sunday.

Because Pierson was 18, he was able to purchase his shotgun legally; a sheriff's deputy was in the building when the shooting began; and Pierson didn't exactly stand out among other students as a possible gunman, Hickenlooper said.

"He didn't seem to have a mental illness. He had a lot of friends. He was outspoken. There have been a couple stories that he was bullied, and that's a recurring theme we see sometimes with these shootings. But, again, there's no rhyme or reason," Hickenlooper said.

He added: "We've invested over $20 million the last legislative session in mental illness. So we've got, you know, 24-7 hot lines. We've got mobile crisis centers. We've got 24- 7 drop-in centers, really trying to — to intercept people with mental illness before they can cause damage to themselves or to others. And — and yet somehow this kid didn't exhibit any of those symptoms."

One of Pierson's fellow students on the debate team, however, told The Times that his friends were concerned about his behavior.

Larson Ross, 18, a debate team captain, said Pierson had become angrier after a September spat with the debate coach.

"It seemed like he was attacking people to try and elicit a response, and in doing so he would put himself above that person on a mental level," Ross said. "It started making it tough for a lot of people to be his friend."

Changes in Pierson were so apparent, Ross said, that his friends were talking about whether they needed to tell someone that he might be "going off the edge."

Pierson's attack happened just one hour after their discussion.
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Patman · Dec 15, 2013

It' s not just Colorado. The USA as a whole are famous, or rather infamous, for their shootings. The ones in the news are just the tip of the iceberg, if they were to cover them all you wouldn' t hear the end of it.

American Horror Story said:

Tate: So that’s your diagnosis? I’m a psychopath?
Ben: Yep. And the worst kind. You are charismatic and compelling and a pathological liar. But don’t listen to me. I’m a total fraud. And by the way therapy doesn’t work.
Tate: It doesn’t work? Then why do people do it?
Ben: Because they don’t want to take any responsibility for their crappy lives. So they pay a therapist to listen to their bullshit and make it all feel special. So they can blame their crazy mothers for everything that went wrong. Sound familiar? It’s a great racket too. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. We collect checks but deep down we know it doesn’t work.
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Amaury · Dec 16, 2013

It seems that she is now in a coma. That poor girl.

Source: ABC News

Published: 12/15/2013

ABC News said:

Claire Davis, the 17-year-old Colorado girl shot critically injured in the shooting at her high school, is in a coma, her family said tonight.

In a statement posted on the Littleton Adventist Hospital Facebook page, the family said: "Claire remains in critical condition. She is stable, but is in a coma."

Davis, a senior at Arapahoe High School, was critically wounded when she was shot at point blank range by Karl Pierson on Friday. She suffered severe head trauma in the shooting, according to the hospital.

Pierson, 18, was armed with a shotgun, machete and had Molotov cocktails in his backpack, police said.

According to police, Pierson was seeking "revenge" on the school's debate team instructor, Tracy Murphy, who had dropped him from the team.

The girl's family said she has gotten good care and asked for privacy.

"The first responders got Claire to the right place, at the right time, and the doctors and hospital staff are doing a wonderful job taking care of her," she statement said. "We appreciate your continued good thoughts and prayers, and will provide updates as her condition improves.

"We again ask that you respect our wishes for privacy, and refrain from contacting us, our extended family, or Claire's friends and schoolmates, as we want to ensure that only accurate information about Claire is shared."

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said when the shooter came upon her as he was looking for his intended target, Davis did not have a chance to escape.

"She is an innocent young lady, and she was an innocent victim of an evil act of violence," Robinson said. "She probably was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Officials at Littleton Adventist Hospital in Colo., told ABCNews.com that Davis was still in at the hospital today.

As Davis remains in the hospital, her classmates have rallied around her.

A fellow senior Chris Davis, who is not related to Claire Davis, started to collect donations on behalf of her family.

Chris Davis said in the last 48 hours he has already collected $4,000 and plans to make online donations possible on Monday. The senior decided to put together the fund as a way to cope with the violent events of the week.

"Me and a couple of my friends, we wanted to see how we could help ourselves and we thought we could help others by doing donations," Chris Davis told ABCNews.com

Although he said did not know the 17-year-old victim personally, he said he often saw her since her locker was near his.

Claire Davis is an avid rider and one of the biggest donors to the fund was a local riding club, according to Chris Davis.

"They were definitely thinking of her," he said. According to the Colorado Hunter Jumper Association website, Davis placed second this year in her age division.

On Saturday hundreds of students held a candlelight vigil in part to support Davis. The teens sang their school song, said prayers and allowed each other to speak. On Twitter, friends and supporters posted messages of support with the hashtag #prayersforclaire.

"As long as we're together we'll get through it," Chris Davis said.
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Colorado School Shooting: Girl Remains in Critical Condition

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