The shooter who opened fire inside an LGBTQ Colorado nightclub, killing at least five, was stopped by two “heroic” people inside the club, police told a news conference on Sunday.
They identified the suspect as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, and said he had used a rifle at the club, where partygoers were apparently marking Transgender Day of Remembrance, which pays tribute to trans people targeted in violent attacks.
Eighteen people were wounded in the incident shortly before midnight on Saturday, police said, adding that an unspecified number of the wounded remained in a critical condition.
Photo: AFP
The shooting was the latest in a long history of attacks on LGBTQ venues in the US, the deadliest of which claimed 49 lives at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.
The suspect in Colorado Springs entered Club Q and immediately began shooting at people inside, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez told a news conference.
“At least two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the suspect, and were able to stop the suspect from continuing to kill and harm others,” he said.
Joshua Thurman of Colorado Springs was in the club at the time.
“It was so scary,” he told reporters. “There were bodies on the floor. There was shattered glass, broken cups, people crying.”
“It was supposed to be our safe space... Where are we supposed to go?” he asked.
Aeron Laney, 24, was at the club for the first time, having just moved to Colorado Springs.
She described a small club where everyone seemed to know each other, the kind of place she knew she would fit right in.
“Everyone was just having a good time and smiling and laughing,” she said, tearfully looking at the bank of flowers growing outside the club.
“I just can’t wrap my head around somebody just walking in and seeing people that are so happy and so comfortable in their community and just wanting to end that,” she said.
Laney and her friend Justin Godwin left minutes before the gunman stormed in.
“Maybe the guy was already there. Like was he in the parking lot... just planning it?” Godwin, 25, said. “It’s just terrifying.”
US President Joe Biden released a statement condemning the attack, slamming violence against the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender women of color.
“We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate,” he said.
Authorities said the suspect was being treated at a local hospital, but released no other information about him, adding that officials, including the FBI, are investigating.
A 21-year-old man with the same name was arrested on June 18 last year after his mother said he had threatened to hurt her with a homemade bomb or “multiple weapons,” El Paso County Sheriff’s Office news release said at the time.
Police spokeswoman Pamela Castro said that police received an initial call about an active shooting in the club at 11:56pm.
She said the first officer arrived within 4 minutes, and that the suspect had been subdued just 2 minutes later.
“Club Q is a safe haven for our LGBTQ citizens,” Vasquez said. “I’m so terribly saddened and heartbroken.”
Club Q said on Facebook that it was “devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” adding, “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
Authorities said that the shooting had not yet been officially classified as a hate crime but that first-degree murder charges were certain to be filed.
Authorities could not immediately say how many people were in the club at the time.
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