The parents of Claire Davis, the Colorado high school student killed in a recent school shooting, have a message for people following the story: Forgive the shooter. Police say on Dec. 13, a student named Karl Pierson drove to Arapahoe County High School armed with a shotgun, with the intention of confronting a teacher he had a falling out with. Instead, in a random act of violence, he shot classmate Claire Davis before turning the gun on himself. During a memorial service for his daughter this week, Michael Davis said that he and his wife forgive the shooter:
My wife and I forgive Karl Pierson for what he did. We would ask all of you here and all of you watching to forgive Karl Pierson. He didn’t know what he was doing … The fact is that Karl was so blinded by his emotions he didn’t know what he was doing … Unchecked anger and rage can lead to hatred, and unchecked hatred can lead to tragedy, blindness and a loss of humanity. The last thing Desiree [Claire’s mother] and I would want is to perpetuate this anger and rage and hatred in connection with Claire. Claire would also not want this.
Claire died eight days after being shot by Pierson. Before her death, her family launched an online prayer campaign on Twitter, and later thanked the thousands who had supported them during the difficult time …
