Club Q suspect faces murder, bias-motivated charges in deadly shooting
The Club Q suspected gunman faces at least 10 charges in the deadly shooting, including five charges of first-degree murder and five charges of bias-motivated crime. Five people were killed and 19 others injured in the Saturday night shooting in Colorado Springs. That number was revised on Monday afternoon from 25 injured to 19, with 17 of those suffering gunshot wounds.
The five victims who died in the shooting have been identified as Ashley Paugh (she/her), Daniel Aston (he/him), Derrick Rump (he/him), Kelly Loving (she/her), Raymond Green Vance (he/him).
Police credit patrons with stopping the gunman from causing even more bloodshed at the LGBTQ nightclub. Police said one patron grabbed the gun from the suspect, hitting him with it and pinning him down until officers arrived.
"Had that individual not intervened this could have been exponentially more tragic," Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said.
Law enforcement said the suspect used an "AR-15 style semiautomatic weapon" in the attack but a handgun and additional ammunition magazines were also recovered.
The gold 2005 Toyota Highlander that was towed away from the scene at Club Q is registered to Aldrich.
Club Q on its Facebook page thanked the "quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack."
The suspect remains in custody with no bond, and is in the hospital with unspecified injuries. He has been identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22. Questions are being raised about why authorities didn't seek to take Aldrich's guns away from him in 2021, when he was arrested after his mother reported he threatened her with a homemade bomb and other weapons.
Though authorities at the time said no explosives were found, gun control advocates are asking why police didn't try to trigger Colorado's "red flag" law, which would have allowed authorities to seize the weapons his mother says he had. There's also no public record that prosecutors ever moved forward with felony kidnapping and menacing charges against Aldrich.
Michael Allen, the 4th Judicial District Attorney, said that the suspect has not been formally charged as of Monday afternoon. Aldrich is scheduled to appear before a judge via video at a future date. A bias-motivated crime is defined as a crime with intent to intimidate or harass another person because of their perceived race, religion and sexual orientation, among other things. Colorado's law changed last year and now bias-motivation only needs to be part of the offender's motivation in committing the crime.
Some of those injured were hurt trying to get away from the shooter. At least seven were in critical condition.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man to be elected a U.S. governor in 2018, called the shooting "sickening."
"My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured and traumatized," Polis said.
A community memorial sprang up Sunday near the club, with flowers, a stuffed animal, candles and a sign saying "Love over hate" next to a rainbow-colored heart.
The shooting happened during Transgender Awareness Week and just at the start of Sunday's Transgender Day of Remembrance, when events around the world are held to mourn and remember transgender people lost to violence.
A large crowd attended an interfaith service in Colorado Springs on Sunday night where they remembered those killed and injured in the shooting.
The Colorado Springs Police Department hosted a news conference on Monday afternoon to discuss the latest developments in the case.
The FBI is asking anyone with information about the deadly shooting at Club Q to call and speak with an agent, regardless of how small or insignificant that person believes the information may be.
The FBI has set up a tipline for anyone with information, video, who witnessed or was driving by, or may have information about the suspect in the Club Q shooting to please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (or 1-800-225-5324).