Colorado Springs police name Club Q shooting victims
Washington, Nov 21 (EFE).- Colorado Springs police on Monday identified the five people who were killed in the weekend’s shooting at an LGBT+ nightclub in the United States.
Kelly Loving, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh and Raymond Green Vance were the five victims named by police in Colorado state’s second-largest city.
Police also revised the number of injured to 17, all with gunshot wounds, and one with other injuries.
Suspected shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, is in hospital and held in custody without bail. He is expected to be released in the coming days and will appear via videoconference before a court from jail.
Aldrich is facing five counts of first-degree murder and another five of bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, US media reported, although the district attorney for El Paso County, Colorado, Michael Allen, said at a press conference that the suspect has not yet been formally charged.
The community in mourning gathered at a makeshift memorial site for the victims on Monday to leave flowers, balloons and candles.
The shooting occurred around midnight on Saturday at Club Q, which hosts drag performances and was considered a refuge and safe haven for the LGBT+ community.
The assailant opened fire as he entered and was subdued by two of those present.
The “two heroes who intervened inside of Club Q” were identified on Monday by police as Richard Fierro and Thomas James. A Facebook post by the nightclub, Club Q, thanked “the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
The police said they received numerous emergency calls starting at 11.56 pm local time (06:56 GMT) on Saturday and the suspect was detained at 12.02 am.
The injured were transported to various hospitals and at least 13 were still hospitalized on Monday.
At least two firearms were found at the scene.
The Hill news outlet reported that Aldrich is the grandson of Randy Voepel, a Republican state lawmaker in the California State Assembly, who compared the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol to the Revolutionary War.
Local newspaper The Gazette also reported that in June 2021 El Paso County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man with the same name and age as the suspect in connection to a bomb threat, although no formal charges were filed against him.
Club Q said Sunday it was “devastated by the senseless attack on our community.” EFE
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