KUSA - It's been a year and three months since the Arapahoe High School shooting that killed senior Claire Davis. Aside from a couple of public statements, Michael and Desiree Davis have been silent about their daughter's death. But now, it is time.
"We didn't want to do any interviews like this until we had something to say," Mike explained. "We feel strongly now we need to help correct this problem and correct violent acts like this in schools, so we feel like it's time for us to reach out and say something and help fix that problem."
The Davis family is searching for information. They want to know more about the young man who shot their daughter and then turned the gun on himself. Specifically, they want to know what the school knew about the threats he had made and the problems he was having in school.
Teachers, administrators and the school psychologist have chosen to remain silent, perhaps because they have been advised to avoid releasing this type of information. The lack of communication is frustrating to the Davis family.
The criminal investigation by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office provided the family with some clues. They know Claire's killer had threatened a teacher three months before the shooting. They know the school did a threat assessment, too. They want to know why he returned to the classroom a few days later.
The sheriff's report doesn't answer some questions.
"It was a criminal investigation, so everything was focused on really trying to identify if anyone else was involved. He didn't ask all the hard questions of teachers and administrators of exactly what did they know? And what did they do? So those are questions that have never been answered." Mike said.
The Davis family are hoping the state legislature can change this policy. Two pieces of legislature will be introduced at the state Capitol. One would allow limited legal action in cases of school violence, in order to compel school administrators to share what they know about an incident and the suspect. The other bill creates a school safety and youth mental health committee to study issues related to the prevention of threats to students, teachers and administrators.
The Davis family are grateful to the school and school district for working with them to establish Clarity Commons, the memorial park on the grounds of Arapahoe High School. The park was developed with the support of Littleton Adventist Hospital and the community who donated to the community fund set up in honor of Claire.
In addition, The Davis family worked with the Denver Foundation to identify and provide grants to groups doing outstanding work within local schools promoting the values of compassion and kindness, as well as efforts to prevent bullying and fostering mental health support.
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