LITTLETON, Col. – Last Christmas a stunned nation mourned the tragic and senseless deaths of 20 first-graders and six educators who were shot by a disturbed intruder at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

This year we enter the Yuletide grieving the death of Claire Davis, the 17-year-old student who was senselessly shot by a classmate who entered their high school with a pump-action shotgun Dec. 13.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Davis, who was sitting in a hallway at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, was shot at point blank range by classmate Karl Pierson, who was allegedly hunting for his debate coach and ended up taking his own life moments later.

Davis lingered in a coma for eight days before passing away with her family by her side Saturday afternoon, according to an update in the New York Daily News.

“Claire Davis personified the love and kindness she learned from her family,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. “All of Colorado feels that. They are in our hearts.”

Pierson’s family also issued a statement, saying “We are heartbroken to hear of Claire’s passing. Our hearts ache for her family as they deal with unimaginable grief. Our prayers are with Claire’s family and the entire Arapahoe community.”

We at EAGnews extend our condolences to the Davis family and the school district.

We hope this latest tragedy will remind school administrators around the nation to increase security in any way possible to protect students and staff.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

Shooting innocent school children has apparently become something of a fad for crazy people, and this threat cannot be wished away.

While we understand the desire for schools with no firearms present, we believe that having armed guards of some sort on every campus would act as a deterrent for those who might otherwise attack.

And as we saw at Arapahoe High School, an armed guard in pursuit of Pierson apparently convinced him to take his own life after firing only five rounds of ammunition. He entered the school with 125 rounds.

Signs advertising “gun free school zones” are basically an invitation for armed maniacs to enter and do their damage with little or no opposition.

Our schools must be on year-round alert, and must have trained and armed guards on hand to deal with those who are willing to murder children to make some sick point, or get their names in the headlines.

It’s unfortunate that our society has sunk so low, but to ignore this new reality, and leave our schools unprotected, would just be inviting more tragedy.

That would be inexcusable.