Hochhalter suffered devastating injuries. She told PEOPLE in 2004 that she had just stepped outside for fresh air when she heard a popping noise and suddenly felt something strike her back, which she initially believed was a paintball. As a friend helped her, she was struck again by a bullet, which this time hit a vein.

Anne Marie Hochhalter, who was partially paralyzed in the Columbine High School shooting but found the strength to forgive one of the gunman’s parents, has died.