Club Q shooter pleads guilty in 2022 mass shooting
Colorado shooting survivor describes shooting at Club Q
A survivor recounts his experiences after a gunman opened fire at a gay club in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing five people.
Ariana Triggs, USA TODAY
The gunman who killed five people and injured more than a dozen others at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado in 2022 pleaded guilty to a series of federal charges on Tuesday, leading to another series of life sentences for the attack.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 24, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to 74 counts, including hate crimes and weapons offenses. Aldrich was sentenced later Tuesday to multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole for the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.
Aldrich opened fire on the nightclub with an AR-15 rifle before bar patrons intervened to stop the rampage.
Aldrich is already serving a life sentence without parole for murder. The deal was made to spare the families of the survivors and victims a potentially painful trial. “I intentionally and deliberately caused the death of each victim,” Aldrich told the state judge at the time.
US District Judge Charlotte Sweeney told Aldrich at the sentencing that the “community is much stronger than you.”
“This community is stronger than your armor, stronger than your weapons, and certainly stronger than your hatred,” she told Aldrich.
Aldrich declined to make a statement at his court hearing on Tuesday.
Aldrich murdered Ashley Paugh, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Raymond Green Vance and Kelly Loving.
Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, said during a press conference after Aldrich’s sentencing that Aldrich knew the layout of the venue based on previous visits and had hoarded more than $9,000 worth of weapons from 56 different dealers.
“Before committing this heinous crime, the defendant created a website where he posted videos espousing racist ideology and discussing racially motivated mass shootings,” Clarke said. “The defendant used online platforms to spread anti-gay and anti-transgender views.”
Club Q has been closed since the shooting, and owners said in an October 2023 letter that it will not reopen in the same location.
Survivors and victims say Colorado Springs’ queer community is resilient
Survivors and victims of the Club Q mass shooting have called the nightclub a haven for many in Colorado Springs. Wyatt Kent, a drag queen, had previously told USA TODAY he was there for his birthday. He told the court Tuesday that his partner, Aston, was killed in the shooting.
“All of my 22 years before that night can never be recovered, but in that regard, I forgive you,” Kent told Aldrich in court. “We as a queer community are the resilient ones, and we continue to hold that beauty within us. We continue to find joy in trauma and pain, and unfortunately those are things you will never experience for the rest of your life.”
Estella Bell, Vance’s grandmother, was frustrated that prosecutors did not seek the death penalty and wished Aldrich would “eat rat poison.” Vance was at Club Q with his girlfriend celebrating a birthday the night of his murder.
The Club Q massacre brought back memories for those who survived or lost loved ones in the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre.
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Many were frightened and grief-stricken after the shooting, which was reminiscent of the 2016 shooting at the LGBTQ+ nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people were shot and killed.
Following the Club Q shooting, Pulse survivor Chris Hansen said he was devastated but urged Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community to stay strong.
“Don’t give up and don’t stay in the dark,” he said at the time. “You have to remember that as long as you’re alive, there’s still hope. And as long as you’re alive, there’s still love, and love wins, and you can’t let this 22-year-old take away your happiness, your joy, your love, your community, your strength.”
More: State Department issues “global warnings” for travelers and warns of violence against LGBTQ+
Aldrich kills 5 people at Club Q in ‘malicious’ attack
Aldrich entered Club Q with an AR-style rifle on November 19, 2022 and opened fire inside the packed nightclub. Prosecutors said that in the “deliberate, malicious and premeditated” attack, Aldrich not only killed five people, but injured 19 and attempted to murder 26 more.
“Aldrich committed this attack based on the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity” of the customers, the Justice Department said in a press release.
Prosecutors noted in court documents that Club Q was celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance and was a well-known LGBTQ+ nightclub in the city.
Contributors: Thao Nguyen, Josh Meyer, Cady Stanton, Terry Collins, USA TODAY; Reuters.
Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @KrystalRNurse.
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