Claire Davis, the 17-year-old who was shot in the head by a classmate at Arapahoe High School, died Saturday afternoon, hospital officials said.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share that at 4:29 p.m. this afternoon, Claire Davis passed away, with her family at her side,” the Littleton Adventist Hospital wrote on its Facebook page.

“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.”

Davis was shot at point-blank range by Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, who then turned the gun on himself. Pierson had reportedly been searching for his debate coach when he entered the school Dec. 13.


Since the shooting, the community has rallied around Davis, with Twitter users taking up the hashtag #PrayForClaire.

About 500 students held a candlelight vigil outside the school the day after the shooting, where they had inserted flowers into a chain-link fence to form the message “4 CLAIRE.”

Earlier Saturday, members of Millbrook Equestrian, hosted a day of activities in honor of Davis, who was active in the horseback riding community, according to the Denver Channel’s website.

The announcement of Davis’ death comes just two days after students were allowed back on the Centennial, Colo., campus for the first time since the shooting to retrieve belongings.


According to the hospital’s Facebook page, a public celebration of Claire’s life will be announced later. The hospital will continue to accept cards for the Davis family in the “Cards for Claire” box at its main entrance.

[For the record, 10 p.m. PST Dec. 21: An earlier version of this post said a candlelight vigil was held Saturday. The vigil was Saturday, Dec. 14, the day after the shooting. The post also misspelled the middle name of the shooter as Halvorsen; it is Halverson. And the time of Davis’ death was 4:29 p.m., not 4:20 p.m.]

ALSO:

New Jersey Gov. Christie signs version of Dream Act into law


2 Colorado teens arrested in alleged plot to shoot up their school

Federal judge backs same-sex marriages in Utah; state to appeal

Twitter: @saba_h

saba.hamedy@latimes.com