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DENVER (KDVR) — Anne Marie Hochhalter, a survivor of the Columbine High School mass shooting, died Sunday, her former principal, Frank DeAngelis, told Nexstar’s KDVR on Monday.
Hochhalter, 43, was shot and paralyzed during the tragedy on April 20, 1999, and used a wheelchair in the 25 years since. During the massacre, two seniors shot and killed 12 students and one teacher, then killed themselves. The gunfire injured another 21 people.
According to the Denver Post, she was found dead Sunday in her home in Westminster, Colorado.
Her cause of death, the newspaper reported, appears to stem from complications from her shooting injuries, said Sue Townsend, stepmother of Lauren Townsend, who died in the Columbine shooting.
Hochhalter spoke out in 2016 in support of the mother of one of the shooters who released a book reflecting on the mass shooting, especially concerning her relationship with grief and battles with shame.
Hochhalter wrote at the time in a lengthy Facebook post that she wasn’t sure she would ever read the book but said she had forgiven the mass murderer’s mother.
In 2012, Hochhalter also spoke publicly in support of the families and survivors of the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
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Anne Marie Hochhalter, 30, center, and her friend Roxy Chesser, 30, right, attend a prayer vigil held to remember the lost and injured in Friday’s mass shooting at a movie theater, in a park outside the Aurora Municipal Center in Aurora, Colo., Sunday, July 22, 2012. Hochhalter, a paralyzed victim of the Columbine High School tragedy over 12 years ago, and other survivors of the 1999 massacre reached out to people who survived the theater shooting. Twelve people were killed and dozens were injured in a shooting attack early Friday at the packed theater during a showing of the Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Police have identified the suspected shooter as James Holmes, 24. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez) -
Columbine High School shooting survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter reacts during a vigil remembering the 25th anniversary of the mass shooting, Friday, April 19, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) -
Anne Marie Hochhalter, 30, center, and her friend Roxy Chesser, 30, right, attend a prayer vigil, Sunday, July 22, 2012, held to remember the lost and injured in Friday’s mass shooting at a movie theater, at the Aurora Municipal Center in Aurora, Colo. Hochhalter, a paralyzed victim of the Columbine High School tragedy over 12 years ago, and other survivors of the 1999 massacre reached out to people who survived the theater shooting. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)
“I really hope the good stories will come out and show a community can come together just like Littleton did after Columbine,” Hochhalter said. “I feel kind of helpless when I hear about these things, and I want to help. I just don’t really know how.”
Her brother, Nathan, spoke during a 2024 memorial event about being trapped in a classroom with about 30 students while hearing gunfire nearby. After four hours, SWAT officers rescued them, he said. Their mother took her own life six months after the shooting.
“I just want to use this moment to let everyone know that it’s OK to ask for help, whatever your situation is, whether either as a survivor 25 years later or someone struggling with any part of their life. These things come in waves, and they can hit you when you least expect it. You should all know that we’re all here for you, and that you’re not alone,” Nathan Hochhalter said.
