A gunman who opened fire inside a Colorado gay nightclub, killing at least five people, was detained by two “heroic” people inside the club, police said at a news conference Sunday.
Source: AFP
The suspect was identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrichand they said he used a long rifle.
The attack occurred at Club Q in Colorado Springswhere the partygoers they were apparently celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrancethat each November 20 pays tribute to trans people who were subjected to violent attacks.
Eighteen people were injured in the shooting shortly before midnight, police said, adding that an unspecified number of injured remain in critical condition. They said that at least one other firearm was found in the club.
The suspect entered the club and “he immediately started shooting at the people who were inside… At least two heroic people within the club confronted and wrestled with the suspect. and they were able to prevent him from continuing to kill,” said the Police Chief Adrian Vasquezin a press conference.
the shooting it is the latest in a long history of attacks on LGBTQ places in the United States, the deadliest of which claimed 49 lives in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.
Americans “cannot and should not tolerate hate,” President Joe Biden said Sunday after hearing the news of the shooting. Though the motive for the attack is still unclear, criticized violence against the LGBTQ communityparticularly towards transgender women of color.
“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration must never become places of terror and violence.. However, it happens all too often. We must eliminate the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people“, he said in a statement from the White House.
FBI INVESTIGATES
The authorities said that the suspect was being treated at a local hospitalbut they did not release more information about him, noting that local, state and federal authorities, including the FBI, are investigating.
A man with the same name was arrested on June 18, 2021.21 years old, after his mother to say that he had threatened to hurt her with a homemade bomb either “multiple weaponsaccording to a news release from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
The Colorado Springs neighborhood around that man’s home was evacuated. after he initially refused to surrender. No explosive devices foundaccording to the statement.
FAST ANSWER
Colorado Springs Police Department spokeswoman Pamela Castro said Sunday that police received an initial call about an active shooting at the club just before midnight (0657 GMT on Sunday). She said that a first officer arrived in four minutes and that the suspect had been subdued just two minutes later.
Club Q posted on Facebook that it was “devastated by the senseless attack on our community”. And he added: “We appreciate the quick reactions of heroic customers that they subdued the gunman and put an end to this hate attack.”
Authorities said Sunday that the shooting had not yet been officially classified as a hate crimebut what first-degree murder charges would surely be filed.
District Attorney Michael Allenspeaking at the press conference, said that acts of violence intended to instill fear in “specific communities…will not be tolerated”.
Governor Jared Poliswho in 2018 became the first openly gay man elected as governor of the United States, called the shooting “horrible, disgusting and devastating” and added that “Colorado supports our LGBTQ community and to all those affected by this tragedy”.
Hundreds of messages of support reached the club’s Facebook pagesome from as far away as Sweden, UK, New Zealand, Germany and Australia.
MASSIVE ATTACKS
The On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.killing 49 people and injuring more than 50.
President Biden commemorated the fifth anniversary of the Orlando shooting last year and took the rare step of saying that he would designate the club as a national monument.
Gun attacks are a major problem in the United States.where they have been produced more than 600 mass shootings so far this yearaccording to the Gun Violence Archive website.
Mass shootings constantly reignite the gun control debatea hot topic in the country, although little progress has been made in Congress in petitions for reform.
