Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at the scene at Club Q, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said. “At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, the chief said, adding: “We owe them a big debt of gratitude.” Authorities received the report of shots fired at Club Q at 11:57 p.m. local time Saturday, said Lt. Pamela Castro of the Colorado Springs Police Department. The shooting is being investigated to determine whether it rises to the level of a hate crime, El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen said. Police identified the suspect as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was in custody and treated for injuries. A man with the same name and age was arrested in 2021 after his mother reported he threatened her with “a homemade bomb, several guns and ammunition,” according to authorities. Police would not confirm whether it was the same person, saying they were investigating whether the suspect had been arrested before. A bouquet of flowers is displayed near Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday. (Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images) The attack was the sixth mass killing in the US this month and comes in a year when the country was rocked by the 21 deaths in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. US Attorney General Merrick Garland has been notified of the shooting, said federal Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley. The FBI said it was assisting Colorado Springs police, but said the police department is leading the investigation.
The motive for the shooting is not yet clear
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, said the news was “humiliating.” “My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured and injured in this horrific shooting. I spoke with the Mayor [John] Suthers and made clear that every state resource is available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and all those affected by this tragedy as we grieve.” Although the motive for the shooting was not yet clear, nor was the gender identity of the victims, the incident came as anti-gay rhetoric has been intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q called the shooting a hate attack.
Nightclub calls shooting a hate crime
“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. She said her prayers were with the victims and families, adding: “We are grateful for the quick reactions of the heroic customers who subdued the gunman and ended this hateful attack.” The shootings came during Transgender Awareness Week and hours before Sunday’s International Transgender Day of Remembrance, when events are held around the world to mourn and remember trans people lost to violence. 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 planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” before a birthday dance party, with an “all-ages brunch” on Sunday. Colorado Springs is a city of approximately 480,000 people located 112 kilometers south of Denver and home to the US Air Force Academy. 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 make a “war” on the clinic for performing abortions. The shooting brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which killed 49 people. And it happened in a state that has seen several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and a Boulder supermarket last year. In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event. Experts warned that extremist groups could see the anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action. Last month, an Idaho fundamentalist pastor told a small Boise church that gays, lesbians and transgender people should be executed by the government, which was echoed by similar sermons from a Texas fundamentalist pastor. There have been 523 mass killings in the United States since 2006, resulting in 2,727 deaths through Nov. 19, according to The Associated Press/USA Today database of mass killings in the country.
