DENVER — The father of a student who killed a classmate at a suburban Denver high school before committing suicide posted a newspaper obituary for his son on the anniversary of the shooting, saying he forgives his son and wants him remembered as a person “who lost his way for a moment.”
Also Saturday, a candlelight vigil was planned for Claire Davis, 17, the girl Karl Pierson killed. Davis’ parents couldn’t be located for comment.
After her death, the Davis family issued a statement saying “the grace, laughter and light she brought to this world will not be extinguished by her death; to the contrary, it will only get stronger.”
Mark Pierson said he didn’t mean to disrespect the Davis family but wanted his son, Karl, to also be remembered for the good things he did in life. He said he did not post an obituary immediately after the shooting because he felt it was not the appropriate time.
In the obituary, he called his son “a young man full of hope and promise, who lost his way for a moment, but now is found. I love you, I miss you, I forgive you.” It was signed, simply, “Dad.”
“I thought this was a nice tribute. He did some things right in his life. Everyone remembers Karl for the last 80 seconds of his life,” Mark Pierson said Saturday. He said he also wants his son remembered as an Eagle Scout who had leadership qualities and a lot of potential.
Police say the 18-year-old targeted his debate coach Dec. 13, 2013, when he entered Arapahoe High School with a shotgun, machete, homemade bombs and 125 rounds of ammunition. He shot Davis, then himself. The coach was not hurt.
School officials said they did not punish Pierson after he shouted a death threat against the coach months earlier in a school hallway. The coach considered resigning, according to police reports, but administrators deemed Pierson low-risk.
Nearly a year later, investigators released parts of Pierson’s diary in which he called himself “a psychopath with a superiority complex” and indicated he was exacting revenge for being teased in elementary school.
