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December 27, 2013 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 12, Issue 9 A publication of
parkerchronicle.net
Shooting response earns praise Changes since Columbine prove their worth By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com
The area outside Arapahoe High School was surrounded by law enforcement and fire personnel following the Dec. 13 shooting at the school. Photo by George Lurie
There’s a general consensus in the law enforcement community that things could have been much worse. By any measure, a school shooting that leaves two students dead and hundreds with deep emotional scars is an unthinkable and heart-wrenching tragedy. As the gravity of the shooting at Arapahoe High School on Friday the 13th becomes more real, officials will take every angle to look at what went right and what went wrong. As for the swarming emergency response to the Centennial school, there is a
lot that went right. It became obvious in the days following the shooting that the perpetrator had plans for widespread death and destruction. It is believed that the immediate response by an armed school resource officer and his confrontation of the shooter, ended the rampage much sooner. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said years of intense training for an active shooter situation were instrumental in limiting the number of casualties. “The response was very effective and obviously quick and also was very consistent with what we’ve done over several years, the exercises we’ve done on a regional level,” Robinson said. Coincidentally, one month before the shooting, Littleton Public Schools was ranked by Security Magazine as the seventh best school district in the nation for security, and among the top 500 institutions Changes continues on Page 10
Ex-deputy coroner faces jail Carter Lord found guilty of embezzlement, forgery By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Former Douglas County Deputy Coroner Carter Lord has been found guilty of embezzlement and forgery, crimes he committed while serving the county. In October 2012, the criminal justice division of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against Lord accusing him of embezzling firearms from the Douglas County Coroner’s Office that had been collected as evidence. An ensuing investigation Lord by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation uncovered the fact that three guns which had been taken as evidence by the coroner’s office following suicides investigated by the office had gone missing. “In four instances, the next of kin released the guns to the Douglas County Coroner’s Office, and those weapons should have been destroyed,” a news release from the Attorney General’s Office states. “Four guns were released to Lord for destruction; however, only one of the four guns was actually destroyed. “Lord resold one of the guns, and kept two of the others to sell at a store he owns called The Stock Shop, in Sedalia. Carter Lord filed falsified documents with the Douglas County Coroner’s Office showing that the guns had been destroyed.” Lord pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case was presented to a Douglas County jury on Dec. 17 and 18. The jury returned with guilty verdicts on one count of embezzlement and two counts of forgery on Dec. 19. Lord, who was also arrested on a DUI Lord continues on Page 20
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“I still don’t believe it happened,” said Arapahoe junior Tessa Serano (right, in white T-shirt) who, along with her twin sister Cheyenne (left) and fellow Arapahoe junior Caroline Powell (center), visited the memorial to Davis on Dec. 19 after picking up their personal belongings inside the high school. Photo by George Lurie
‘Heaven has gained an angel’ Arapahoe High shooting victim Claire Davis dies By Chris Rotar
crotar@coloradocommunitymedia.com The list of items, each one dropped off as a gesture of hope and support, continued to grow. The flowers, the candles, the cards, the teddy bears, the balloons, the banners urging strength. Since Dec. 13, they piled up outside a fence at Arapahoe High School in Centennial. Claire Davis — and all of Arapahoe High — was tight within an extended community’s embrace. Nine days after Davis was shot in the head, one item, a yellow poster board, spelled out the heartbreaking conclusion of her fight for life. “Heaven has gained an angel.” Davis had died the previous day, at 4:29 p.m. Dec. 21, at Littleton Adventist Hospi-
tal, her family by her side. The 17-year-old had been in critical condition since fellow Arapahoe High student Karl Pierson shot her at the school around 12:30 p.m. Dec. 13. A statement posted on the hospital’s Facebook page announced the news to the community and to those around the nation and world who spent more than a week praying for Davis to recover. The hospital’s message seemed to indicate that Davis was indeed “Warrior Strong” — a mantra built on the school’s nickname and the need to rebound from a nightmare — until the end. “Despite the best efforts of our physicians and nursing staff, and Claire’s fighting spirit, her injuries were too severe and the most advanced medical treatments could not prevent this tragic loss of life. Claire’s death is immensely heartbreaking for our entire community, our staff and our families.” Claire continues on Page 12
Claire Davis died Dec. 21 from the gunshot wound she sustained Dec. 13. Courtesy photo