US President Joe Biden has released a statement following the deaths of five people at a mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Colorado Springs.

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“While no motive in this attack is yet clear, we know that the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years. Gun violence continues to have a devastating and particular impact on LGBTQI+ communities across our nation and threats of violence are increasing.” President Biden said.

“We saw it six years ago in Orlando, when our nation suffered the deadliest attack affecting the LGBTQI+ community in American history. We continue to see it in the epidemic of violence and murder against transgender women – especially transgender women of color. And tragically, we saw it last night in this devastating attack by a gunman wielding a long rifle at an LGBTQI+ nightclub in Colorado Springs.

“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.

“Today, yet another community in America has been torn apart by gun violence. More families left with an empty chair at the table and hole in their lives that cannot be filled. When will we decide we’ve had enough?” President Biden asked.

President Biden highlighted that he’d signed into law new gun safety legislation earlier this year, but admitted that much more needed to be done to get guns of the streets of America.

Colorado Springs police have identified 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich as the alleged offender. He was disarmed by at least two people who were inside the club, their actions have been described as heroic.

Aldrich was armed with a long rifle, and another weapon was also recovered at the scene. Alongside the five deaths, there were also 18 people who were injured in the attack.

While no motive for the crime has been identified at this early stage of the investigation, police did say it was being investigated through the lens of a hate crime. The attack, which took place at midnight local time, occurred on International Transgender Day of Remembrance.

OIP Staff

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