A 22-Year-Old Gunman Opened Fire At A Colorado Springs Gay Nightclub, Killing Five People

By Associated Press

A 22-year-old gunman opened fire at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub, killing five people and injuring 18  before being overpowered by "heroic" patrons within minutes and arrested by local police, authorities said . Sunday. Two firearms, including a "long gun," were found after Saturday night's shooting at Club Q, police chief Adrian Vasquez said. as a hate crime, said El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen. 

Police identified the shooter as Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was in custody and being treated for injuries. A man of the same name and age was arrested in 2021 after his mother reported that he had threatened her with "a pipe bomb, multiple guns and ammunition," according to authorities.

Police would not confirm if it was the same person and said they were investigating whether the suspect had been arrested before. Authorities called  Club Q at 11:57 p.m. m. Saturday with a report of a gunfight, and the first officer arrived at midnight. 

At least two heroic people" confronted the shooter and stopped the shooting, Vásquez said, adding, "We owe them a great debt of gratitude. Of the 18  injured, some were in critical condition and at least two were treated and were released, authorities said, adding that some were injured in an attempt to escape.

The shooting brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which killed 49 people. And it happened in a state that has seen several high-profile mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999,  in suburban Denver in 2012, and at a convenience store in Boulder  last year.

 It was the sixth mass killing this month and came in a year that shook the nation with the deaths of 21 people in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. The FBI said it would help but said the police are leading the investigation.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man  to be elected governor in the United States in 2018, called the news "disgusting". My heart breaks for the family and friends of those who were lost, injured and traumatized in this horrific shooting. 

I spoke to Mayor (John) Suthers and clarified that all state resources are available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs," Polis said. "Colorado stands with our LGBTQ community and everyone affected by this tragedy as of us mourn.

Ryan Johnson, who lives near Club Q and was there last month, said it's one of only two nightclubs for the LGBTQ community in conservative Colorado Springs. said the 26-year-old, describing it as a medium-sized club. When he got home early Sunday, he saw police cars blocking the streets. it happens and then it happens," Johnson said. "You come to Colorado and you feel safer on the than other parts of the country and then this happens.

Robert Nichols, 35, said he was desperately looking for a girlfriend on Sunday who had told him she would be at the club and didn't return his calls. She said this caused her some "scares" hours before she saw the boyfriend's car. outside of his home and decided it was okay. 

Although the victims' motive and gender identity were not yet clear,  the incident occurred as extremists escalated anti-gay rhetoric. In a statement, Club Q called the shooting a shooting. hate attack. "Club Q is  devastated by the senseless attack on our community in ," the club posted on its Facebook page.

He said his prayers are with the victims and families, adding, "We appreciate the quick responses from the heroic clients who overpowered the shooter and put an end to this hateful attack." Kevin, Executive Director of a National LGBTQ rights organization, Lambda Legal Jennings responded by calling for tougher gun restrictions. 

America's toxic combination of bigotry and absurdly easy access to firearms means  such events are all too common and LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC communities" We, the Jewish community and other vulnerable  populations are paying the price again and again for the inaction of our political leadership," he said in a statement. "We must come together to demand meaningful action before  another tragedy strikes our nation as events are held around the world  to mourn and remember transgender people lost to violence."

The Colorado Springs shooting will no doubt give these events a special resonance. Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that hosts a "Drag Diva Drag Show" on Saturdays, according to its website. In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said the planned entertainment included a "punk and alternative show" ahead of a birthday dance party with a Sunday brunch for "all ages." Home of  the US Air Force Academy and Focus on the Family, a leading evangelical Christian ministry.

In November 2015, three people were killed and eight injured at a planned parenthood clinic in the city when authorities said a man opened fire because he wanted to wage a "war" on the clinic for offering abortions performed. In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiring to riot at a Pride event. 

Experts warned that extremist groups could take anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action. Last month, a fundamentalist pastor from  Idaho  told his small Boise congregation that the government should execute gay, lesbian and transgender people, echoing similar sermons by a fundamentalist pastor from Texas. November 19 according to The Associated Press/USA Today database of mass killings in the USA.