Shooting at Colorado nightclub leaves 5 dead, 25 injured

Police have named a 22-year-old as a suspect in a November 19 mass shooting at an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs that left at least five people dead and 25 injured. Independent.

Photo: IStock

The shooter, identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, was previously arrested in June 2021 after his mother told officers he threatened her with a homemade bomb and other weapons, forcing neighbors in nearby homes to evacuate while sappers and negotiators urged him to give up.

There is no record that prosecutors ever filed felony or threatening charges against Aldrich, or that police or relatives attempted to enforce Colorado's "red flag" law that would have allowed authorities to confiscate guns ( law to prevent dangerous people from buying guns).

Gun control advocates say the Aldrich threat in June 2021 is an example of disregard for red flag law, which could lead to deadly consequences.

Colorado prosecutors declined to directly confirm the connection, saying only that the incident in 2021 would be "part of an investigation and will be released to the public as needed."

Aldrich broke into the nightclub and opened fire on the patrons before, according to chief Adrian Vasquez, "two heroically brave men in the club fought" him. He reportedly carried an AR-15 type rifle. Two firearms were seized from the scene.

On the subject: Shooting at the University of Virginia: three dead, two injured

Police responded within minutes of 19 calls from the scene shortly before midnight on November XNUMX, when the club was hosting drag shows and a DJ the day before the club was scheduled to celebrate Transgender Memorial Day.

Colorado conservative congresswoman Lauren Boebert faced backlash for her statement of concern over the shooting at a gay nightclub when Twitter users accused her of hypocrisy.

Bobert tweeted after the nighttime shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs that "the news from Colorado Springs is just terrible. This morning I pray for the victims and their families." She added: "This violence needs to end and it must stop as soon as possible."

Twitter users were quick to point out that Bobert has always helped perpetuate right-wing hatred of the LGBT+ community.

Some LGBT+ people have already begun to acquire weapons or learn how to handle them to protect themselves in the current political climate from the rising tide of hatred.

“I see more and more signs of targeted eradication action. We are already starting to see signs of a looming riot,” said Lee Levey of the transgender advocacy group Health Liberation Now.

Therefore, it cannot be a coincidence that the November 19 attack in the evening took place just minutes before the clock counted down to the start of Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is celebrated on November 20 every year to commemorate murdered transgender people.

A similar story happened in 2016 after the Pulse massacre, when 49 people were killed and 53 injured at a gay nightclub in Florida.

“In many ways, this was our 11/10,” said one gun purchase advocate. “We were in as much danger on September 11 as we were on September XNUMX.”

“I like the people I met at this bar. It's amazing how much support and love I've received here... you all saved my life,” Daniel Aston, a 28-year-old bartender at Club Q in Colorado Springs, tweeted in September.

Bartenders Daniel Alston and Derrick Rump were killed in an attack on Club Q, reports Independent.

“Hurray, I got the job!!!!” Daniel Alston tweeted in August 2020. The young transgender man was persuaded by his parents to move to Colorado Springs from Oklahoma, and he got a spot at Club Q.

“He was the happiest person in the world,” Mr. Alston’s mother, Sabrina Alston, told Radio Colorado. “He was happy, having fun and making friends. This is simply incredible. He had so much joy of life to share with us and all his friends.”

Mrs Alston said she found out her son was transgender when he was four years old, when he started insisting he was a boy and "refusing to wear girly clothes". He began the transition after graduating from university, began hormone replacement therapy to make his body muscular.

Alston quickly became friends with everyone, and the club became his home. “Every time I have even the slightest thought about leaving Club Q, someone comes up and tells me: “You are the reason I love this bar” or “You and Derrick (another bartender) make me feel so safe here,” he tweeted in January.

Derrick Rump was another bartender at Club Q, where he often performed in drag shows. According to public records, he moved to Colorado Springs from Pennsylvania in 2020.

“Derrick, you were always so nice to me and brightened up my days when I saw you at the club,” wrote his friend Anna Maria Elena on Facebook.

“You always took care of me - and not only as a bar visitor, but also as a friend. “I will miss you and your smile that could light up the darkest of my rooms, and your laughter that charged everyone around with positivity,” she wrote.

Another friend, Delaney Siler, said that they had known Rump for seven years and that he often sat with them on the patio, listening to their problems.

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President Joe Biden reaffirmed his belief that America should reinstate the assault weapons ban after the AR-15 was again used in mass shootings. On November 20, he issued a statement condemning the violence as "senseless" and adding that while police had yet to officially name the suspect's motive, it was clear that LGBT institutions and individual Americans were facing a new wave of hate.

“Places that should be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never become places of terror and violence,” he said. “But this happens too often.” We must address the inequalities that contribute to violence against LGBT+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hatred.”

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