A 22-year-old opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 18 before being subdued and arrested by police, who arrived on the scene in about five minutes, authorities said. Two firearms were found at the scene, including a “long rifle,” Colorado Springs Police Department Chief Adrian Vasquez said.
The authorities received a report of a shooting at Club Q during the early hours of yesterday Saturday.
The sixth mass murder this month and comes in a year that saw the nation rocked by the deaths of 21 people in a shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas. The suspect was injured.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, called the news “disgusting.” “My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured and traumatized in this horrific shooting. I spoke to Mayor John Suthers and told him that all state resources were available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “Colorado stands with our LGBTQ community and all those affected by this tragedy as we mourn.”
Although the motive for the shooting was not yet clear, the incident came as extremists have intensified their anti-gay rhetoric. In a statement, Club Q called the shooting a hate attack. “Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” they said. “We appreciate the quick reactions from the heroic customers who subdued the gunman and put an end to this hateful attack.”
The shooting occurred during Transgender Awareness Week and hours before International Transgender Day of Remembrance, when events are held around the world to mourn and remember transgender people killed by violence.
Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that hosts a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays. In addition to the show drag queenClub Q’s Facebook page said the planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show”.
Colorado Springs is a city of approximately 480,000 people, located about 112 kilometers south of Denver. In November 2015, three people died and eight were injured at a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city when a man opened fire: he wanted to make “war” on the clinic because he performed abortions.
The incident evoked the 2016 massacre at the gay nightclub Press in Orlando, Florida, where 49 people died. And it happened in a state that has experienced several high-profile mass murders, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a suburban Denver movie theater in 2012 and a Boulder supermarket last year.
