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 strength to forgive and to heal her soul after bonding with another family devastated by the tragedy,