Columbine survivor who forgave gunman’s mother dies at 43

Anne Marie Hochhalter, who was partially paralysed in the Columbine High School shooting but found strength to forgive, has died. She was 43.

Ms Hochhalter was found in her home in Denver on Sunday. Her family suspects she died of natural causes stemming from her injuries in the 1999 shooting in which 12 students and a teacher were killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

The investigation into how she died has been transferred to the office that conducted the post-mortem examinations of those killed at Columbine, the coroner’s office for Adams and Broomfield counties said.

Ms Hochhalter in 2016 wrote a letter to one of the gunmen’s mothers saying, “Bitterness is like swallowing a poison pill”, and offering her forgiveness.

Attending a vigil on the tragedy’s 25th anniversary in 2024 she said she was flooded with happy memories from her childhood and wanted those killed to be remembered for how they lived, not how they died.

Ms Hochhalter struggled with intense pain from her gunshot wounds over the past 25 years. Yet her brother said she was tireless in her drive to help others — from people with disabilities to rescue dogs and members of her family.

“She was helpful to a great many people. She was really a good human being and sister,” her brother, Nathan Hochhalter, said.

Her own tragedy was compounded six months after the shooting, when her mother, Carla Hochhalter, went into a pawnshop and asked to look at a gun before using it on herself.

In 2016, the mother of one of the Columbine gunmen, Sue Klebold, released a memoir exploring the causes of her son’s violence and ways to prevent future attacks through mental health awareness.

Ms Hochhalter said at the time she was grateful that Ms Klebold was donating the book proceeds to help those with mental illness. Ms Hochhalter said her mother suffered from depression and did not believe the shootings were directly to blame for her death.

She said she was sure Ms Klebold had agonised over what she could have done differently just as she had thought of ways she could have prevented the death of the mother she loved.

“A good friend once told me, ‘Bitterness is like swallowing a poison pill and expecting the other person to die.’ It only harms yourself. I have forgiven you and only wish you the best,” Ms Hochhalter said in a message she posted on Facebook.

She also included a photo of a card Sue and Tom Klebold sent to her as she recovered in the hospital after the shooting.

Ms Hochhalter attended the 25th anniversary vigil in April with her brother, who was trapped in a classroom during the shooting. She had not attended the 20th anniversary event because of post-traumatic stress disorder, she said in a social media post last year.

“I’ve truly been able to heal my soul since that awful day in 1999,” she wrote.