COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A man suspected of killing five people and injuring 25 others in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado has been arrested on murder and hate crime charges, according to court records.
The man, identified by police as Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was arrested on Monday on five counts of murder and five counts of bias-motivated hate crimes causing bodily injury, court records show. Police say he opened fire at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday just before midnight. He was quickly subdued by others at the club and taken into custody when police arrived a few minutes after receiving a call, authorities said.
“Once the case is turned over to us, we’ll review the case and make formal charging decisions,” said Michael Allen, district attorney for the 4th Judicial District in Colorado Springs. “Formal charges we decide to file will be filed with the court.”
The case is being investigated on murder and potential bias-motivated crimes, Allen said.
Colorado state law requires that defendants who are in custody on arrest warrants be advised within 48 hours of the charges they are facing. From there, prosecutors have roughly 10 days, though that can be extended in some circumstances, to make formal filing decisions.
“Oftentimes on cases like this, they can be a little quicker because we’re so embedded with the investigation,” Allen said.
The U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado said it “will review all available facts of the incident to determine what federal response is warranted.” It is working with multiple local and national agencies, U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan said.
“We will work closely with District Attorney Michael Allen, with local law enforcement, Mayor Suthers, and the Colorado Springs community to ensure the person who did this is brought to justice,” Finegan said.
“At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, said Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez, adding: “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”
One of the people in the bar took a handgun from the shooter and hit him with it, Suthers said in an interview with CNN.
Suthers called it an “incredible act of heroism.”
Of the 25 people injured, 19 have gunshot wounds, Suthers said. None of those is “deemed truly critical,” the mayor said.
A patron who was in the bar told local station KRDO-TV Channel 13: “As I was dancing on the dance floor, I heard shots fired. I thought it was the music because there were no screams. There was no, ‘Help, help.’”
When he realized what was going on, he ran into a dressing room where he and others locked the door, turned out the lights and got on the floor.
“We heard everything. We heard more shots fired. We heard the assailant being beat up by someone that I assume had tackled him. We heard the police come in, we heard them yelling at him,” the patron said.
“All I could think about is everything, my life,” he said before breaking down in tears.
Keoni Moore, 20, who identifies as nonbinary, is a DJ who worked at Club Q before recently moving to another club just across the street.
He was at work Saturday night and realized something was terribly wrong when he heard sirens and saw ambulances arriving at Club Q.
“Who is in there? Who’s going to get out? Who am I not going to see anymore?” he wondered.
As of Sunday afternoon, he had heard that two friends and former co-workers had been killed.
He said they were warm, welcoming and funny — and helped make Club Q what it was.
“It was very welcoming,” he said. “Every time you came in, whether you were new or had been there for so long, there was never a stuck-up feeling like you don’t belong.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who in 2018 became the first out gay man in the United States to be elected governor, said, “My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured and traumatized in this horrific shooting.”
The gunman used an AR-15-style semi-automatic weapon in the shooting, the Associated Press reported. A handgun and ammunition magazines were also recovered at the scene, authorities said.
Investigators are looking into whether the suspect purchased the AR-15-style rifle himself legally.
Polis ordered all flags on all public buildings in Colorado to be flown at half-staff for five days, beginning at sunrise Monday until sunset Saturday, to honor each of the five who died.
