Rage, sadness at Colorado shooting vigil
Authorities ID victims and those who helped stop attack
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Hundreds of people, many holding candles and wiping away tears, gathered in a Colorado Springs, Colorado, park to honor those killed and wounded when a gunman opened fire on a nightlife venue that for decades was a sanctuary for the local LGBTQ community.
Monday’s vigil came as the 22-year-old suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, remained hospitalized after Saturday night’s attack in which five people were killed and another 17 suffered gunshot wounds before patrons tackled and beat the suspect into submission. Aldrich faces five murder charges and five charges of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, online court records showed.
At the vigil, people embraced and listened as speakers on a stage expressed both rage and sadness over the shootings.
Jeremiah Harris, 24, said he went to the club a couple times a month and recognized one of the victims as the bartender who always served him. He said hearing others speak at the vigil was galvanizing following the attack.
“Gay people have been here as long as people have been here,” Harris said. “To everybody else that’s opposed to that ... we’re not going anywhere. We’re just getting louder, and you have to deal with it.”
Court documents laying out Aldrich’s arrest have been sealed at the request of prosecutors. Information on whether Aldrich had a lawyer was not immediately available.
Authorities said the attack was halted by
two club patrons including Richard Fierro, who told reporters that he took a handgun from Aldrich, hit him with it and pinned him down with help from another person.
Though his actions saved lives, Fierro said the deaths – including his daughter’s boyfriend, 22-year-old Raymond Green Vance – were a tragedy both personal and for the broader community.
The other victims were identified by authorities and family members as Ashley Paugh, 35, a mother who helped find homes for foster children; Daniel Aston, 28, who had worked at the club as a a bartender and entertainer; Kelly Loving, 40, whose sister described her as “caring and sweet”; and Derrick Rump, 38, another club bartender who was known for his quick wit and adopting his friends as his family.
Thomas James was identified by authorities as the other patron who intervened to stop the shooter. Fierro said a third person also helped.