A tragic shooting in Colorado Springs has left the local Colorado community in both the Springs and Denver, as well as beyond, reeling, as five are believed dead and 18 injured at Club Q last night.
According to CNN, a 22-year-old gunman entered the nightclub just before midnight and opened fire. Brave patrons of the bar confronted and stopped him. The suspect is Anderson Lee Aldrich, according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. The shooting was done with a long riffle, and two guns total were found at the scene.
“We owe them a great debt of thanks,” says Vasquez about the folks who confronted the gunman.
CNN reports that the violence only lasted a few minutes, and police began receiving 911 calls starting at 11:56 p.m. Officers were dispatched at 11:57 p.m. and arrived just after midnight, detaining the gunman at 12:02 a.m. Police reported that 39 officers and 11 ambulances responded. Several of the 18 people wounded are in critical condition due to gunshot wounds.
The suspect survived and was not shot at. He is currently also being treated in the hospital for wounds.
“Club Q is a safe haven for our LGBTQ citizens,” Vasquez says about the incident. “Every citizen has a right to feel safe and secure in our city, to go about our beautiful city without fear of being harmed or treated poorly.”
In a statement on social media, Club Q says they are “devastated by the senseless attack on our community” and thanked “the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
Club Q was originally planning events around today’s queer community day, the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Now, they will be closed instead.
So far, already early in the day, this reporter has witnessed the entire queer community coming together online, providing support, checking in, checking on friends for each other, and sharing information about a vigil that is unfolding at the time of this writing at All Souls Unitarian Church. A vigil is reported also planned to take place at Frizy’s.
Our hearts go out to our neighbors in the Springs. More news and information about community resources will be provided as it unfolds.
