Less than a month after the Club Q nightclub massacre in Colorado Springs, the shooting has been rocked by another shooting that left one person dead and two more injured.
The Colorado Springs Police Department said the shooting took place in the southeastern parts of the city on Saturday morning.
The authorities said a call came in at around 4.30am on Saturday from the intersection of Airport Road and Circle Drive, according to KRDO.
The two individuals who survived the shooting suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police at the scene of the shooting said no one has been detained and a suspect has yet to be identified, KKTV reported.
The incident took place less than a month after a 22-year-old killed five people and injured 18 others during a mass shooting inside a LGBT+ nightclub in the city last month.
That attack devastated Club Q, which has operated as safe haven for the city’s LGBT+ community since it opened 21 years ago.
“Our [prayers] and thoughts are with all the victims and their families and friends,” a post on the club’s Facebook page read. “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
Suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of bias-motivated crimes causing bodily injury.
Aldrich, who claims to be non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, allegedly used an AR-15-style rifle when they “immediately began shooting” on entering the club, according to Colorado Springs chief Adrian Vasquez.
Drag performer Del Lusional hosted a punk and alternative show scheduled for 9pm, to be followed by a DJ and dancing from 11pm until the early morning hours.
“I was walking backstage when I heard the gunshots. I only saw the aftermath and even then, I didn’t wanna look,” Del Lusional wrote in a post on Twitter.
In another post, the performer said: “I never thought this would happen to me and my bar. I don’t know what to do with myself. I can’t stop hearing the shots.”
At least two “heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the suspect,” according to Mr Vasquez.
“Their actions clearly saved lives,” added mayor John Suthers.
A former Army captain has been named a hero for his actions.
Richard Fierro, 45, grabbed the gunman from behind by their body armour and pulled the suspect to the ground.
His daughter’s boyfriend, 22-year-old Raymond Green Vance, was one of the five killed in the attack.
The victims included Kelly Loving, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump and Ashley Paugh.
