Colorado Springs Gay Club Shooting Suspect Charged With 305 Counts, Including Bias-Motivated Crimes
Suspected shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich was charged on 305 counts after allegedly killing five people at a LGBTQ+ bar, Club Q, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, CNN reports.
Among the charges are first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault, and bias-motivated crimes.
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Aldrich appeared in court on Tuesday, where Colorado’s Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen read the charges. Aldrich — whose public defender, Joseph Archambault, revealed in court filings that Aldrich is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns — had been previously held in custody on preliminary charges before the official charges were levied on Tuesday. During a hearing on Nov. 23, a judge ordered he be held without bond.
Aldrich allegedly opened fire at Club Q late Saturday night, Nov. 20; at least five people were killed in the shooting, and 25 were injured. Upon arriving at the scene, officers were able to immediately detain Aldrich, who’d reportedly been “subdued” by customers, including Army veteran Richard M. Fierro. Two firearms were recovered at the scene, including an AR-15-style weapon.
“While the suspect was inside the club, at least two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the subject, and were able to stop the subject from continuing to kill and harm others,” Colorado Springs Deputy Chief Adrian Vasquez said at a press conference on Nov. 22. “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”
Following Aldrich’s arrest, reports emerged that they had been arrested last year after their mother said they threatened her with a homemade bomb and other weapons. While authorities did not find any explosives at the time, questions were still raised as to why authorities didn’t trigger a “red flag” law that would have allowed them to seize the weapons Aldrich’s mother said they had.
The Washington Post also reported on Nov. 21 that Aldrich legally changed their name from Nicholas Brink to Anderson Lee Aldrich in 2016, just before their 16th birthday. At that time, Aldrich was reportedly the target of a vicious online bullying campaign, with someone even creating a YouTube account under the name Nicholas Brink and posting a crude animated video titled “Asian homosexual gets molested.”
Records also shed some light on Aldrich’s tumultuous past. Their parents, Aaron and Laura Brink, got divorced in 2001, about a year after Aldrich was born. Aaron, a mixed martial arts fighter and pornography performer, had battery convictions against Laura (nee Voepel) both before and after Aldrich was born. When they got divorced, Laura got custody of Aldrich, and Aaron was barred from seeing Aldrich or contacting Voepel except through an attorney (that was later modified to allow him some contact with Aldrich).
In 2012, Laura was arrested on arson-related charges. Though that charge was dismissed, she was found guilty on a lesser criminal mischief charge. Additionally, Laura’s father (Aldrich’s maternal grandfather) is former California State Assembly member Randy Voepel, who previously expressed support for the Jan. 6 insurrection (Voepel was voted out of office earlier this month).
At a press conference held on Nov. 21, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said the city’s district attorney would be filing motions to allow local law enforcement to reveal greater details about Aldrich’s criminal history. At the time, Suthers also said Aldrich’s alleged attack as having “all the trappings of a hate crime,” but said an official motive is “still under investigation.”
Aldrich’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22.
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