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Lone Gunman Identified in Nightclub Shooting

gunman
A police car is set up near a nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, where a shooting occurred late Saturday night. | Image by Geneva Heffernan, The Gazette

Colorado Springs Police have identified the lone gunman that allegedly shot and killed five people and injured at least 25 more at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ night club.

The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, allegedly began shooting as soon as he walked into the night club late Saturday night, according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez telling reporters during a news conference Sunday morning.

At least two people, whom authorities described as heroes, confronted Aldrich and fought with him, which saved more lives, police said.

The club thanked the individuals that helped subdue the gunman, according to a statement posted on the club’s Facebook page.

“We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack,” the statement read.

The first 911 call came in at 11:56 p.m. Saturday and an officer was dispatched to the scene seconds later, Lt. Pamela Castro, spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Police Department, told reporters.

The first officer arrived at midnight, and the suspect was detained by 12:02 a.m., Castro said.

At least two guns were recovered from the scene, including a long gun, police said.

Aldrich was injured and remains in the hospital, police said.

UCHealth Memorial Hospital North in Colorado Springs is caring for five patients who were injured in the shooting, according to a statement from the hospital.

According to the El Paso Sheriff’s Office, Aldrich was arrested in a June 2021 bomb threat incident after the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office was alerted that he was in possession of a homemade bomb.

He was booked into the El Paso County Jail on two counts of Felony Menacing, and three counts of First-Degree Kidnapping in 2021.

Police did not find any explosives in the homes.

Sunday, President Joe Biden issued a statement about the shooting.

“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often,” the president said. “We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”

The shooting at Club Q is being investigated as a hate crime.

The Dallas Express has reached out to the UCHealth Memorial Hospital North Colorado for further information and comment, but none was received at the time of this publication.

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