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[News] Suspect faces 5 counts of murder, hate crimes in Colorado Springs nightclub massacre: Updates


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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The man suspected of fatally shooting five people and injuring more than a dozen others at an LGBTQ nightclub is facing murder and hate crime charges, court records show.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, is being held without bond and may be charged with five counts of murder and five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, though those charges are preliminary and haven't been filed yet. Authorities on Monday were searching for a motive after the deadly rampage left the community in mourning.

The Colorado Springs Police Department updated Monday the number of people injured in the attack, confirming the five fatalities and saying 17 others sustained gunshot wounds, another person was hurt but not by a gunshot, and another person "was a victim with no visible injuries.'' The department asked anyone who was a victim or has information about the attack to contact the FBI.

 

The two patrons who took down the gunman before he could cause any further harm were identified at an afternoon news conference as Thomas James and Richard Fierro. Mayor John Suthers called them "heroes'' and said he was amazed by the humility demonstrated by Fierro, an Army veteran who merely told him, "I was trying to protect my family.''

El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen said the suspect remains hospitalized and will likely make his first court appearance via video in the next few days. The Associated Press reported the shooter used an AR-15-style semiautomatic weapon and that a handgun and additional ammunition magazines also were found at the crime scene. 

Aldrich was arrested within minutes of police arriving at Club Q shortly after midnight Saturday, after the patrons tackled him.

Suthers told NBC's "Today" show that the attack "has all the trappings of a hate crime,'' then emphasized at the news conference, "We all want to ensure that our community is not defined by this tragedy but by our response to it.'' 

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Hero's daughter broke knee, her boyfriend was killed in assault 
The family of a man hailed as one of the heroes who subdued the shooter sustained several injuries and endured a major loss in the assault, according a posting on the Facebook page of the brewery they own. 

Jessica Fierro said her husband Richard Fierro — identified by authorities as one of the two persons who confronted the alleged gunman — said their daughter's boyfriend, Raymond Green, was killed in the barrage. 

Daughter Kassy broke a knee scrambling for cover, Richard injured his hands and legs, their best friends were hit by multiple shots and she herself was bruised during the chaotic moments at Club Q late Saturday, Jessica Fierro said.

"NO ONE should ever have to witness bloodshed like this,'' she said.

Richard Fierro, who served four tours of duty as an Army officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the New York Times he "went into combat mode'' in wresting a handgun away from the attacker and pummeling him with it. “I just know I have to kill this guy before he kills us,” he told the newspaper.

CLUB Q HERO: Former Army soldier went into hero mode to subdue shooter at Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub

Suspect's 2021 arrest examined
Authorities believe Aldrich, who is being treated for injuries, acted alone. 

In an interview with 9News, a television station in Denver, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said the suspect’s mother is not cooperating with law enforcement and the suspect was injured when two club patrons confronted him.

In 2021, Aldrich was arrested after his mother reported that he threatened her with a homemade bomb and other weapons, police said. 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. 

 

Allen said the state has "very restrictive sealing laws'' pertaining to cases that have been dismissed. There’s no public record that prosecutors charged Aldrich in that incident, so a red flag law would not apply.

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Relatives and friends identify, pay tribute to those killed in the shooting
On Monday afternoon, authorities released the names of the five people killed. Before that, family members and friends have been coming forward with tributes, identifying all the victims.

Daniel Aston, 28, was a bartender and entertainer at the club, where his parents would join in the cheers at his shows. Fellow bartender Derrick Rump was bubbly and a jokester, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported. The newspaper also said Raymond Green's death was confirmed by his mother. According to social media posts, he was at the club with his girlfriend celebrating a friend's birthday.

Ashley Paugh was a wife and mother who loved the outdoors, her family said in a statement. A fifth victim, Kelly Loving, was a trans woman who turned 40 last week and moved from Memphis to Denver earlier in the year in hopes of finding a community that embraced her identity, her friend Natalee Bingham said.

Sabrina Aston said her son Daniel enjoyed the club because it gave him a safe place to be himself and he liked helping the LGBTQ community.

“We are in shock, we cried for a little bit, but then you go through this phase where you are just kind of numb, and I’m sure it will hit us again,” she said. “I keep thinking it’s a mistake, they made a mistake, and that he is really alive." Read more here.

 

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Contributing: James Bartolo, Pueblo Chieftain

Still hard to talk about the tragedy
Emotions remained raw Monday, when Club Q bartender Sean Shelby visited the growing memorial with friends. He tried to explain to a USA TODAY reporter what had happened — the muzzle flashes, the gunshots, the screams of terror.

On Facebook, Shelby had posted that he survived but two colleagues died. He opened his mouth to speak but tears began streaming down his face, past his nose ring. He huddled deeper into his grey hoodie as a friend comforted him.

“I’m sorry. I can’t,” he said, walking away, sobbing.

– Trevor Hughes

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COLORADO SPRINGS MASSACRE JOINS GROWING LIST OF LGBTQ HATE CRIMES IN AMERICA

Authorities verified names, pronouns of victims instead of 'deadnaming'
Colorado Springs police made a point of telling the media the preferred pronouns of the shooting victims, after verifying with their families. 

That was a welcome decision for Olivia Hunt, a policy director from the National Center for Transgender Equality. She was heartened police are using the names the victims go by, not what appears on their driver’s licenses or birth certificates.

“It is refreshing to hear that they are taking the time to make sure they're known by the correct names and pronouns,” Hunt said. “Otherwise, it’s being even more disrespectful in death as they are by some in life.”

The practice of referring to people by a name they don't want, especially in the transgender community, is called ''deadnaming,” according to Dr. Jason Lambrese, a psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic.

link" https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/11/21/colorado-springs-nightclub-shooting-lgbtq-community/10745611002/

 

 

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