Arapahoe high school shooting: 17-year-old girl shot in the head is in a coma

NBC NewsArapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson holds a photo of Claire Davis student of 17 years who was killed during a briefing Saturday, December 14, 2013, at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado.By Ron Mott and Tracy Connor, NBC NewsThe 17-year-old girl shot her at point-blank range in the head at a high school in Colorado, which is being described as "one of the best people" - is in a coma and in critical condition, said Sunday his family.Claire Esther Davis, a senior from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, wounded on Friday in an attack by 80 seconds by gunman student Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, which came into the building of packing a gun and a grudge about being on the bench on the debate team, police said.The victim's family had previously said that it suffered a severe trauma, but provides more details about his condition on Sunday and thanked emergency workers that led to the hospital."Claire remains in critical condition."She is stable, but is in a coma, they said in a statement released through the Littleton Adventist Hospital."Rescuers have Claire to the right place, at the right time, and the doctors and hospital staff are doing a great job taking care of it."Thank you for your continuing good thoughts and prayers, and it will provide updates as it improves their condition."Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson, said Claire was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that the motive for the murder was in retaliation against a staff member.Karl Pierson had grown angry and made threat remarks before shot a student and himself in a high school in Colorado. Reports Ron Mott of NBC.Captain of the team for discussion Joe Redmond said Pierson had grown more and more in recent weeks, and the target of his wrath was librarian of the coach and the school of debate Tracy Murphy."Speech and debate was his life and the fact that it was not had crushed a bit and made him very tense and angry" Redmond told NBC News."Karl and Murphy did not get along and that was communicated to a death threat."It tried to help him and not get," Redmond added. "No one was able to reach him. At the end of the day, that's what happened."Pierson appeared at the school at noon on Friday with a shotgun, ammunition attached to his chest, a machete and Molotov cocktails - and went to the library.Alerted to the threat, Murphy left the building, police praised as a move to attract Pierson tactical out.Pierson fired a round through a corridor and then fired to Claire, who just sitting with a close friend. He committed suicide as a security officer closed in on him, police said."His intention was evil and his evil was to harm several individuals," said the sheriff.Redmond said that he was trying to reconcile the crime in cold blood with the teenager who knew."Is unjustifiable what he did," he said."The Karl who knew he was a good person, but obviously the Karl who came to the school on Friday was not."Murphy was not injured. A statement of the Littleton public schools "asked asked that we share his and the concern of his family for all the victims of this tragedy."Meanwhile, the Arapahoe students pray for Claire, who was described as outgoing, athletic and an excellent student. She loves horses and recently placed second in equestrian competition, according to The Denver Post,A neighbor said that Claire newspaper is also the best babysitter in the community."It was our 5 years of age," said a man. "She was very dear. I think that she wanted to go to the infirmary - I know that she had been accepted already a number of schools already. "Fellow Avery Griggs, a second year student, student said that he is "one of the best people I met at Arapahoe.""It is amazing and so sweet," Avery told the Post.Friends and admirers written prayers on Twitter, and some students raise money to help pay his medical expenses."I feel like it will make us a stronger class and the school as a whole," Chris Davis, a senior from Arapahoe which helped organize fundraising efforts.This story was originally posted on Sunday, December 15, 2013 9:10 PM EST