Gunman who killed five at club tackled
Two men, one of them reportedly a military veteran, tackled gunman and overpowered him
Two “heroic” clubbers overpowered a US gunman who killed five people and injured 25 others at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. A police chief said the pair, one believed to be a military veteran, saved lives by subduing the gunman within minutes of the first shots. The suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, entered Club Q armed with an AR-15 rifle and wearing body armour. Witnesses described scenes of panic as a salvo of shots rang out shortly before midnight.
TWO “heroic” clubbers overpowered a gunman who killed five people and injured 25 others at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, police said yesterday.
A police chief said the pair, one believed to be a military veteran, undoubtedly saved lives by subduing the gunman within minutes of the first shots. The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich.
The gunman entered Club Q during a party on Saturday night, armed with an AR-15 and wearing body armour, before opening fire on the crowd. Witnesses described scenes of panic as a salvo rang out shortly before midnight.
“I was on the dance floor and heard about four or five shots,” said Joshua Thurman 34. “At first, I thought it was just the music, and I kept dancing. Then I heard more shots and saw the flash from the muzzle of the gun, and ran to the back, to a dressing room. I was with another customer, and we just locked the door and laid down on the floor.”
Joe Biden, the US President, said: “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 ... we cannot and must not tolerate hate.”
Police chief Adrian Vasquez said: “At least two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the suspect and were able to stop him from continuing to kill and harm others ... their actions clearly saved lives.” He said the alleged gunman was in custody within five minutes of the police being called.
Colorado governor Jared Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected as a state governor, described the shooting as “horrific, sickening and devastating”.
It is feared the death toll could increase, with at least two of those in hospital having sustained “life-threatening injuries”.
John Suthers, mayor of Colorado Springs, a city of 480,000 souls 70 miles south of Denver, said: “We are eternally grateful for the brave individuals who blocked the gunman.”
Club Q had been planning a “transgender day of remembrance” to pay tribute to members of their community who had been killed in other acts of violence. Regulars described it as a “fun inclusive place to hang out”.
Authorities said yesterday that the shooting had not yet been officially classified as a hate crime but that firstdegree murder charges were certain to be filed.
‘We are eternally grateful for the brave individuals who blocked the gunman, likely saving lives’
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 600 mass shootings – defined as where four or more victims have been killed or injured – in the United States so far this year.
Michael Allen, the district attorney, speaking ata news conference, said that acts of violence intended to strike fear into “specific communities ... will not be tolerated”.
Club Q was the latest in a series of gay venues to be attacked in the US.
In June 2016, a gunman opened fire inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50 in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history.
And in Seattle, 700 people miraculously escaped uninjured-avoided injury on New Year’s Eve in 2013 after Musab Mohammed Masmari, 30, who had advocated “exterminating’ gay people poured petrol on the stairs of a gay club and set it alight.