At least five people were killed and 18 others were injured when a gunman opened fire inside a Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, just before midnight on Saturday (Nov. 19). The shooter, who has been identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, opened fire inside the Club Q nightclub at around 11:56 p.m. local time. At least two people confronted Aldrich after he started firing multiple rounds from a weapon. He fired multiple rounds from his weapon, according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. There were two firearms recovered from the scene of the shooting at Club Q, as well as a long rifle.
Witnesses say that the gunman opened fire on the dance floor, indiscriminately shooting at people. Clubgoers tried to flee the shooter, but many were trapped inside the LGBTQ club. The police arrived on the scene within minutes of the shooting and began evacuating the club. The shooter was still inside the LGBTQ club when the police arrived, and he was eventually taken into custody after a standoff.
The motive for the shooting is not yet known, but investigators are looking into whether it was a hate crime. This is the deadliest mass shooting targeting the LGBTQ community in U.S. history.
