The 17-year-old who was shot in the head during the Arapahoe High School shooting died Saturday afternoon. Claire Davis was surrounded by her family at the time of her death.
Davis died at 4:29 p.m. at Littleton Adventist Hospital. The high school girl passed after eight days on life support according to the Denver Post.
Once news of Davis’ death spread, fresh candles were lit at the school’s memorial as more visitors came to say goodbye to Davis. Allison Bruhn, a junior at Arapahoe who had come to the memorial for the past eight days, arrived Saturday evening carrying a poster from the school's dance team.
"I've been coming every night and praying for an hour, praying that Claire would be OK, that she would get better," Bruhn said. "Our school loves Claire. She was such a nice and giving person."
Shannon Wilhelm, her husband and her 5-year-old son, Deagan, also arrived at the memorial even though they didn’t know Davis. They placed flowers at the foot of the fence.
"Being a parent, the fact that you have to lose your child around the holidays or any time, it's just not something you want anyone to go through," Wilhelm said.
The hospital announced the teenager's death in a Facebook posting at 5:15 p.m.: "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. Claire's death is immensely heartbreaking for our entire community, our staff and our families.”
CNN notes that the Davis family also posted a statement to the hospital’s Facebook page that evening.
"Although we have lost our precious daughter," the family said, "we will always be grateful for the indelible journey she took us on over the last 17 years — we were truly blessed to be Claire's parents. The grace, laughter and light she brought to this world will not be extinguished by her death; to the contrary, it will only get stronger."