Following the tragic Club Q shooting on November 19 that left five people dead and several more injured, owner Nic Grzecka says it is only a matter of time before the space reopens.
“We will be rebuilding in some sense or form,” he says in an interview with NPR last week. “This community has expressed wholeheartedly their need for the space that we’ve provided for 20 years.”
Although Colorado Springs law enforcement concluded their investigation and allowed Grzecka to return to the premises, it will still be some time before the space is ready to reopen and operate. In the meantime, Grzecka says he has been working on an interim location for Club Q.
“We’re currently working on another space we have, another venue,” he says. “We’re hoping we can get some funds and people to help get this other space open so we can get our employees back to work and give people a space to go to again.”
As of this moment, Club Q’s website has been repurposed to meet that goal, hosting links to official fundraisers for reopening.
“We will rise again as a safe space for our community and an appropriate memorial to those that have been lost through hate,” a statement on the site affirms.
Employees, volunteers, victims, and their families are also raising funds through various campaigns on GoFundMe. A benefit event for Club Q employees who are currently out of work was held December 1 in Colorado Springs.
Speaking to the Associated Press shortly after the shooting, Grzecka attributed the violence at his club to the right-wing wave of fear-mongering and misinformation around drag shows and transgender people, which has exploded over the past year.
“Lying about our community, and making them into something they are not, creates a different type of hate,” he says.
On Tuesday, Anderson Lee Aldrich, the suspected gunman, was formally charged with 305 counts, including charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault, and bias-motivated crimes causing bodily injury.
Photos courtesy of Club Q Shooting Vigil Info
