Nov. 20 (UPI) — President Joe Biden evoked the deadly Pulse nightclub massacre that happened six years ago in Orlando when responding to the Saturday night shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.
A 22-year-old man is in police custody after at least five people died and another 25 were injured at the gay nightclub, just before midnight Sunday, police said.
The mass casualty event occurred at Club Q, until recently the only LGBTQ+ nightclub in the city of 484,000 residents.
The deadliest attack on the American LGBTQ community: 49 dead and another 53 injured at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016. Gunman Omar Mateen died in a shootout with police.
“Gun violence continues to have a devastating and particular impact on LGBTQI+ communities across our nation and threats of violence are increasing,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
“We saw it six years ago in Orlando, when our nation suffered the deadliest attack affecting the LGBTQI+ community in American history. We continue to see it in the epidemic of violence and murder against transgender women — especially transgender women of color.
“And tragically, we saw it last night in this devastating attack by a gunman wielding a long rifle at an LGBTQI+ nightclub in Colorado Springs.”
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was taken into custody at 12:02 a.m. just minutes after the shooting, Colorado Springs Police Lt. Pamela Castro said at a news conference. He is being treated for injuries at a local hospital, she said.
The suspect began shooting upon entering the club, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said, and two “heroic” people fought with him and were able to stop him from killing and hurting others before officers arrived.
“We owe them a great debt,” Vasquez said.
At least two firearms were found at the scene, with an unspecified long rifle in the shooting.
“The motive of the crime is part of the investigation and whether this was a hate crime is a part of that investigation,” Vasquez said at the media briefing.
The FBI is on the scene.
Thirty-nine police officers and 34 firefighters responded, officials said.
The names of the victims are not being released until their families are notified, the city said in an update.
The number of injured was 18 until it was increased by seven at 11:50 a.m. Sunday.
Eleven ambulances responded to the scene after multiple 911 calls were received at 11:57 p.m., Colorado Springs Fire Capt. Mike Smaldino said.
Victims were taken to three hospitals — Memorial Central, Penrose Hospital and Memorial North — by ambulance and police cars including some in critical condition, officials said. One of the people who died was pronounced at one of the hospitals.
Some were hurt while attempting to flee from inside the club.
Joshua Thurman said he was at the club during the shooting and said he lost a friend in the shooting.
“I was on the dance floor dancing when I heard four to five shots,” he told Denver News Channel.
“I thought it was the music, so I kept dancing. Then I heard another set of shots, and then me and a customer ran to the dressing room, got on the ground and locked the doors and called the police immediately.”
He said he heard more shots and people screaming while ground in the dressing room and on the phone with police.
“I hope I make it out alive,” he said he told himself. “[I was thinking of] my mom, my friends, my loved ones.”
The nightclub opened in 2002 with meals, drinks and dancing offered, including drag performances.
“As a Black kid, it’s taboo to be gay. So, coming here, this is one of the first places that I felt accepted to be who I am. It’s supposed to be our safe place. A community shouldn’t have to go through something like this for us to come together,” Thurman said.
“Where are we supposed to go? How are we supposed to feel safe in our environment when it just got shot up? This is our home. This is our space. We come here to enjoy ourselves, and this happens?”
Club Q, which is closed indefinitely, had planned a brunch event on Sunday in celebration of Transgender Day of Remembrance and also later a “Friendsgiving Dinner,” according to a post on its Facebook page.
Club Q said in a statement posted on Facebook it was “devastated by the senseless attack on our community” and offered condolences to victims and their families.
“We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack,” Club Q said.
Gov. Jared Polis, the first openly gay governor in the U.S., said: “My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured, and traumatized in this horrific shooting. I have spoken with Mayor Suthers and made it clear that every state resource is available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs.”
Polis, who is in isolation with coronavirus, wrote in a statement: “This is horrific, sickening, devastating. My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured, and traumatized in this terrible shooting.
“We are eternally grateful for the brave individuals who blocked the gunman likely saving lives in the process and for the first responders who responded swiftly to this horrific shooting. Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn.”
Biden again called for gun reform, as he has in the face of other incidents of gun violence.
“Today, yet another community in America has been torn apart by gun violence. More families left with an empty chair at the table and hole in their lives that cannot be filled,” he said. “When will we decide we’ve had enough? We must address the public health epidemic of gun violence in all of its forms.”
