According to authorities, “heroic” Club Q goers fought and stopped a gunman shortly after he opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 18.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, a 22-year-old man, was taken into custody just minutes after the shooting started. He was being treated at Club Q for injuries he got in the shooting.
In a post on its Facebook page, Club Q, which identifies itself as an adult-oriented gay and lesbian nightclub, termed Saturday night’s events a “hate attack.”
Authorities stated that they were looking into whether the incident was motivated by hatred.
Two firearms were discovered at the site, according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez, who added that the suspect used a long rifle during the rampage.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who is openly gay, praised the “brave individuals who blocked the gunman” in a tweet, calling the massacre “horrific, sickening, and devastating.”
According to police, the original call regarding the gunshot came just before midnight, and the culprit was captured within minutes.
Images from the area show security and emergency cars with flashing lights parked on a street near the venue.
By 4 a.m., police had cordoned off the area around the Club Q, which is located in a strip mall on Colorado Springs’ outskirts.
In 2016, a shooter opened fire on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people before being shot dead by authorities.
Until a shooter killed 60 people at a music festival in Las Vegas in 2017, it was the worst mass shooting in recent US history.
