Anne Marie Hochhalter, a survivor of the Columbine High School tragedy, was never married and did not have a husband, focusing instead on her advocacy, personal resilience, and the close relationships she built with her loved ones.
She was a Columbine High School sh*oting survivor whose life was marked by tragedy, but she fought to ensure it did not mark her life.
Highlights
- Anne Marie Hochhalter was a victim of the Columbine High School shooting who was paralyzed after she got shot.
- Her mother k*lled herself after the depression and tragedy, and her father used to steal money from her trust secretly.
- Hochhalter recently passed away after facing several health complications from her tragedy.
Hochhalter was a junior in high school and an intelligent and talented student when the 1999 Columbine sh*oting changed her life forever.
She was just 17 years old when she was shot in the back as she took lunch outside the school.
The bullet left her paralyzed from the waist down, and she spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair and enduring ongoing medical complications.
Surviving Tragedy: Anne Marie Hochhalter‘s Struggles with Family and Loss
Anne Marie Hochhalter, whose life changed after Columbine High School sh*otings, was never married and lived her life by herself.
However, the bodily trauma was merely the beginning of her fight. Her mother, overwhelmed by grief and depression, took her own life, leaving her to live a new reality without her.
Columbine shooting survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter dies https://t.co/CLtzNJCBbX pic.twitter.com/ltOqmLOcbU
— FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) February 18, 2025
Her dad, so much wanting her to learn to walk again, put tremendous pressure on her to improve.
Mr Hochhalter learned from his new girlfriend, a massage therapist and healer, that if Marie worked, she could walk again.
However, the passing therapist gave her some devastating news: she had very little chance of ever walking again.
Accepting this fact was a relief for her, but her father was not ready to let go of hope.
When her father remarried, he moved their family to the mountains, taking survivors away from her friends.
A breaking point came when Marie found that her father had been secretly stealing money from her trust fund, gifts to help her after the Columbine tragedy.
A Life of Courage: Shooting Survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter Passes Away at 43
Anne Marie Hochhalter, a victim of the Columbine High School tragedy of 1999 and one of its sh*oting survivors, was found d*ad at her home in Westminster on Sunday morning aged 43.
She is said to have passed away due to complications from the issues that she had been facing since the tragedy.
Anne Marie Hochhalter, who was paralyzed during the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School has died from complications from the medical issues she suffered from the shooting.
Sue Townsend said, “She was a fighter. She’d get knocked down — she struggled a lot with health… pic.twitter.com/xvWA7jNP2P
— Newtown Action Alliance (@NewtownAction) February 18, 2025
Despite her challenges, Marie was renowned for being tough and self-reliant.
She turned out to be an advocate for individuals with disabilities, using her own experience to assist others.
Cheers and much love to Anne Marie Hochhalter, now reunited with all those on the other side… I’m am shredded, and deeply saddened to hear that you’ve passed on, however I take solace in knowing you’re no longer in pain.
I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Anne Marie Hochhalter on Sunday, Feb. 16, of natural causes. As one of the most grievously injured survivors of the Columbine tragedy, Anne Marie carried an unimaginable burden with grace, resilience, and strength. Her journey was marked by profound challenges, yet she remained a symbol of perseverance and courage.
Additional Information
- Anne Marie Hochhalter was shot in the back and chest by a semi-automatic Tech 9 as she ate with friends in the Columbine High School cafeteria.
- During the massacre, two seniors shot and k*lled 12 students and one teacher, then k*lled themselves.
- After the tragedy, Marie rekindled her relationship with her brother, Nathan Hochhalter.
