On this day in 2022 five people were killed when gunman Anderson Lee Aldrich entered Club Q in Colorado Springs.
Just before midnight Aldrich entered the venue armed with several weapons and began firing into the crowd. The death toll was prevented from being more catastrophic when patrons in the club bravely disarmed the gunman.
President Joe Biden later spoke about the violent attack.
“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 must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.” President Biden said.
The people killed were (in clockwise direction on image) Kelly Loving (she/her), Raymond Green Vance (he/him), Derrick Rump (he/him), Daniel Aston (he/him), and Ashley Paugh (she/her).
Friends remembers transgender woman Kelly Loving as someone who was incredibly kind and always offering help and supportive advice to others. While Raymond Green Vance was an LGBTIQA+ ally who visiting the venue for the first time.
Daniel Aston, who was transgender, was the bar’s popular supervisor, while Derrick Rump was the club’s barman. Aston’s parents later spoke about how he’d found an accepting community and many friends through the club, while Rump was described as the “heart and soul” of the club.
Ashley Paugh was a married mother who worked in the area of foster care, often encouraging members of the LGBTIQA+ to considering taking up foster care.
The incident could have resulted in a significantly higher death toll if not for the bravery of those who intervened. When the gunman’s first weapon ran out of bullets he was tackled by US Navy Petty Officer Thomas James. In the struggle for the weapon James was shot twice.
A second patron Richard Fierro, who was an army veteran, also assisted – rushing at the gunman. As Aldrich pointed his handgun at Fierro the magazine fell out. Fierro wrestled the handgun and used it to subdue Aldrich by repeatedly hitting them in the head with the weapon.
James managed to push to rifle away and Drea Norman, a transgender woman, came out of hiding and helped them subdue Aldrich.
After being apprehended at the scene gunman Anderson Aldrich pleaded guilty to state based charges and sentenced to five consecutive life sentences, plus an additional 2,211 years in custody without the opportunity for parole.
They later pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges that resulted in being sentences to an additional 55 concurrent life sentences, plus a consecutive 190 years behind bars.
Many of the people who were present at the nightclub of the night of the attack later testified before the US Congress calling for tougher gun laws. Many suffered gunshots and other injuries that occurred during the commotion.
