This appears to be a targeted attack.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, the young American accused of being the perpetrator of the shooting that left 5 dead and 25 injured at a gay club in Colorado Springs this weekend, faces charges of murder and hate crimes , according to the El Paso County Court Record.
His formal indictment is expected to be announced later on Monday.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, arrived at Club Q, an LGBTQ bar in this very conservative town an hour south of Denver where a drag show was taking place, shortly before midnight on Saturday.
Armed with a pistol and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, he immediately opened fire.
Authorities say he was subdued after less than two minutes by two patrons, including a man who "ran into" him and managed to disarm and immobilize him, a "heroic" act that prevented a balance sheet that could have been much heavier.
Threats to his mother with a pipe bomb
Anderson Lee Aldrich was known to authorities.
In June 2021, he threatened his mother with an improvised explosive device and was arrested after taking refuge.
For some reason authorities have not clarified, the charges were eventually dropped.
According to the Colorado Springs
Gazette
, her paternal grandfather is a former ultra-conservative California local elected official, Randy Voepel, who had defended the storming of the Capitol as an act of resistance against "tyranny".
đź”´ Colorado Springs gay club shooting: Suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich charged with murders and hate crimes
(2021 CCTV image obtained by CNN when he threatened his mother with a pipe bomb) pic.twitter.com/nMHt57ur9o
— Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) November 21, 2022
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A family member speaking on condition of anonymity told
20 Minutes
that Aldrich was living with his grandparents, who had refused to testify against him.
In a post on a Mormon Church women's Facebook group, his mother asked for contact information for "a post-traumatic stress therapist" for her son.
World
United States: A shooting in an LGBT nightclub leaves 5 dead and 18 injured, a suspect arrested
World
UNITED STATES
Colorado
LGBT movement
Shooting