DENVER — The 22-year-old suspected of killing five and injuring 18 in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs was arrested on suspicion of hate crime and murder charges, court records show.
Anderson Lee Aldrich is being held on suspicion of five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of bias-motivated crimes causing bodily injury in the Saturday shooting at Club Q, court records show. The felony counts are “arrest-only charges,” meaning prosecutors have not officially filed charges and the charges could change.
Colorado Springs officials on Monday lowered the number of people injured in the shooting to 18. Seventeen people were shot and one person was injured in another manner, according to a news release. Police on Sunday first had said 18 people were injured, then raised that figure to 25.
Prosecutors with the 4th Judicial District attorney’s office requested that the suspect’s arrest affidavit be sealed and hidden from public view.
“If the information supporting the arrest warrant affidavit was to be released, it could jeopardize the ongoing case investigation,” the request states.
Magistrate Amanda Philipps granted the request.
Aldrich was arrested at the club after patrons at the club detained him, police have said. He remained hospitalized Monday.
Of the people injured at Club Q, seven were sent to Centura Penrose Hospital, according to spokeswoman Lindsay Radford. As of early Monday afternoon, four had been treated and released and three remained in stable condition.
“Everyone who came in did very well and is doing very well from a clinical standpoint,” said Dr. Laura Trujillo, a trauma and critical care surgeon. “They’ve got good support, and it seems like they feel safe here.”
Several of those patients suffered multiple injuries, Trujillo said, though it’s difficult to say precisely how many times they might have been shot.
Colorado Springs police declined Sunday to speak about possible motives.
No court date has been set for Aldrich, the court records show.
Investigators are asking anyone who was at Club Q during the shooting or who has information to contact the FBI by calling (800) 225-5324.
In Colorado law, bias-motivated crimes are defined as crimes that harm someone that are motivated in part by the victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation. The preliminary hate crime charges against Aldrich are class five felonies, which are punishable by up to three years in prison.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 expanded the definition of hate crimes under federal law and added crimes committed because of someone’s perceived sexual orientation or gender identity to the definition.
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