Army veteran says he confronted a gunman in Colorado Springs
Sign up for our free US newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every weekday morning
Sign up for our free US Morning email newsletter
Colorado Springs shooting suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich wanted to be the “next mass murderer” and go out “in flames,” according to past arrest records.
More than a year before the 22-year-old allegedly killed five victims in a mass shooting at LGBT+ nightclub Club Q, Aldrich was arrested for allegedly making a bomb threat. No charges were filed and the case was sealed.
Records have surfaced showing the accused shooter’s grandmother told police they said he was “going to be the next mass murderer and has been collecting ammunition, firearms, bulletproof body armor and stockpiling in the basement of the residence.”
Aldrich, who allegedly identifies as non-binary, now faces preliminary charges that include five counts of murder along with five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily harm during Saturday night’s massacre .
Aldrich’s father has sparked outrage after he said his first reaction to being told of the mass shooting was to wonder why his son was in a gay bar.
key points
Show latest update 1669290653
Records suggest the suspect wanted to ‘go out in a fire’
Anderson Lee Aldrich, the alleged shooter who killed five people at an LGBT+ club in Colorado Springs over the weekend, previously told his family they wanted to be the “next mass murderer.”
In June 2021, Aldrich, who identifies as non-binary, was arrested for threatening the grandmother they lived with with a homemade bomb, prompting a heavily armed police tactical team to respond and evacuate the homes from the surroundings
Crisis negotiators were eventually able to take Aldrich away and he was booked into the El Paso County Jail on two counts of criminal threatening and three counts of first-degree kidnapping, according to the sheriff’s office.
Johanna Chisholm November 24, 2022 11:50 am
1669289400
Colorado Springs shooting suspect ‘threatened mother with homemade bomb’ in June 2021
A person with the same name and age was arrested in June 2021 after his mother told officers he threatened her with a homemade bomb and other weapons.
Colorado prosecutors declined to explicitly confirm the connection Sunday morning, saying only that the 2021 incident “was part of the investigation and will be released as appropriate.”
Johanna Chisholm November 24, 2022 11:30 am
1669288213
Anti-gay parent says ‘no excuse for shooting a child’
The father of shooting suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich said that while he has anti-gay views, there is no excuse for his son allegedly shooting people at an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs.
“I’m so sorry guys for your loss,” Aaron Brink, 48, said. “Regardless of politics, it’s human life. I’m so sorry. My soul goes out to you.”
“Life is so fragile, and it’s precious,” he said. “Those people’s lives were valuable.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar November 24, 2022 11:10 am
1669286880
Mike Pence distanced himself from anti-LGBT figures before five killed in Colorado shooting
Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared to take a step back from his party’s far right in an interview taped just days before the deadly attack at a gay nightclub that has been blamed on a rising tide of anti-LGBT hate.
Mr. Pence was interviewed by Margaret Brennan on CBS’ Face the Nation last week; his remarks were broadcast on Sunday.
During the interview, he was asked about legislation that was passed by the US Senate this week, which seeks to protect same-sex marriage rights at the federal level. Unlike other conservatives in his party, Mr. Pence appeared to distance himself from the rhetoric that many far-right commentators such as Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo and Tucker Carlson have embraced that seek to link LGBT Americans to pedophilia.
The fluid accusations of “grooming” against gay Americans that have emerged from this wing of the GOP have been blamed for a new wave of violence and discrimination against LGBT communities both online and in the real world.
John Bowden has the details.
Josh Marcus November 24, 2022 10:48 am
1669284613
Tucker Carlson criticized for dismissing the anti-LGBT+ motive in the shooting
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has come under fire for dismissing the possibility that anti-LGBT+ hatred was behind the mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay club that killed five people and injured 18 others.
In the wake of the mass shooting, the right-wing news anchor dismissed the suspect’s motive, suggesting that Aldrich was “clearly a troubled person.”
“So the most obvious question is why did he shoot 30 people? The truth is, we don’t know,” he said during The Tucker Carlson Tonight show.
“We know he was clearly a troubled person,” Carlson said, adding that the suspect was arrested in 2021 for threatening his mother with a homemade bomb.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar November 24, 2022 10:10 am
1669282800
AOC guts Lauren Boebert for ‘thoughts and prayers’ response to Colorado Springs mass shooting
After the shooting at midnight on Saturday, Ms. Boebert tweeted that “the news from Colorado Springs is absolutely horrible.”
“This morning the victims and their families are in my prayers. This lawless violence must end and end quickly,” he added.
Alisha Rahman Sarkar has the story.
Josh Marcus November 24, 2022 9:40 am
1669281013
Why the hell can’t America end this deadly gun violence?
How are you supposed to feel when a man walks into an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs and opens fire, killing five and injuring 20 others?
Horror, no doubt, and admiration for the people who stood up to the alleged shooter before he destroyed even more lives.
The same goes for when you wake up to the news that six people are dead at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, after an employee opened fire late at night, critically wounding half a dozen others, before turning the gun on himself
But alongside the sympathy for the victims, there are two other emotions that boil over and won’t go away. And they are anger and outrage, writes Andrew Buncombe.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar November 24, 2022 9:10 am
1669279680
‘Master of Silly Business’ among the 5 dead in a shooting in Colorado
On a typical night at Club Q, a bastion for LGBTQ people in the largely conservative city of Colorado Springs, Daniel Aston could be seen letting loose and sliding across the stage on his knees, followed by his mullet between shouts and shouts.
The site offered Aston, a 28-year-old transgender man and self-proclaimed “Master of Silly Business,” the liberating performances he had long sought. But on Saturday it became the site of the latest mass shooting in the US when a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire, killing Aston and four others. Twenty-five others were injured.
Jess Bedayn has the story.
Josh Marcus November 24, 2022 8:48 am
1669277454
Shooting suspect held without bail
The suspected gunman facing possible hate crime charges in the fatal shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub has been ordered held without bail.
At an initial court appearance yesterday, the suspect sat slumped in a chair with visible injuries to his face and head.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who identifies as non-binary, appeared to need a warning from defense attorneys during a brief video appearance from jail.
Aldrich offered a vague answer when El Paso County Circuit Court Judge Charlotte Ankeny asked him to state his name.
The suspect was beaten into submission by patrons during the shooting at Club Q and was released from the hospital Tuesday.
The motive for the shooting is still under investigation, but authorities said Aldrich faces possible murder and hate crime charges.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar November 24, 2022 8:10 am
1669275607
Mothers, friends, artists among dead in Colorado gay club
A loving boyfriend. A 28-year-old waiter who loved to act. A mother who came from a small town who loved to hunt. They are among the victims of a shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs that left five people dead and 17 others with gunshot wounds.
Club regulars and newcomers—gay and straight, transgender and cisgender—gathered at Club Q over the weekend to dance, enjoy a comedy show, or work behind the bar. What began as a typical Saturday afternoon of dancing and drinking at the preeminent LGBTQ establishment in the conservative Colorado city south of Denver ended in tragedy when a gunman entered and began spraying bullets before being tackled and subjected
More details in our full story.
Josh Marcus November 24, 2022 7:40 am