Anne Marie Hochhalter, Paralyzed in Columbine Shooting, Dies at 43
Anne Marie Hochhalter, who spoke publicly about the long-lasting effects of gun violence after she was paralyzed in the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, was found dead on Sunday at her home in Westminster, Colo. She was 43.
The police said that officers had found Ms. Hochhalter after they were called for a welfare check. The Adams County coroner, which initially handled Ms. Hochhalter’s case, said it had been transferred to the Jefferson County coroner, “given that her death was likely related to complications of paraplegia associated with the Columbine shooting.” The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said that autopsy results were not yet available.
Sue Townsend, who became close to Ms. Hochhalter after her stepdaughter, Lauren Townsend, was killed in the shooting, said that Ms. Hochhalter had been dealing with lingering effects from her injuries, including a pressure sore and an infection.
Ms. Hochhalter was eating lunch with friends when two students opened fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999, killing 12 other students and a teacher before fatally shooting themselves.
Ms. Hochhalter, a junior who was 17, was shot twice — once in the chest and once in the back — and was paralyzed from the waist down. Her brother, Nathan Hochhalter, who was a freshman at Columbine, was trapped in the school for hours until a SWAT team arrived.