Colorado Springs shooting – live: Drag queen among heroes who stopped attack as new suspect video revealed

A video purporting to show Colorado Springs shooting suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, during a bomb threat encounter with police has surfaced.

Mr Lee was named as the suspect in the mass shooting at an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs on Saturday which left at least five people dead and 18 injured. He has been charged with five counts of murder and five counts of bias-motivated crimes causing bodily injury.

It was also revealed that the suspect is the grandson of Republican Assemblyman Randy Voepel of California. Mr Voepel espouses MAGA ideology and compared the Capitol riot to the “Lexington and Concord” battle of the American Revolution.

The suspect was arrested in June 2021 after his mother told officers that he was threatening her with a homemade bomb and other weapons.

Mr Aldrich stormed inside the nightclub and opened fire on the patrons, before “two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought” with him according to chief Adrian Vasquez.

Police responded within minutes after several 911 calls from the scene just before midnight on Saturday, when the club hosted drag performances and a DJ the day before the club would commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Key Points

• Here’s what we know so far about the five victims

• Suspect named in mass shooting at LGBT+ nightclub

• Governor condemns ‘horrific, sickening and devastating’ shooting

• Mass shooting took place on eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance

• Suspect arrested in 2021 for ‘threatening’ mother with bomb

Tucker Carlson plays down anti-LGBT+ motive in shooting

10:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Fox News host Tucker Carlson played down the anti-LGBT+ hate that appears to be behind the mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay club.

In the wake of the mass shooting, the right-wing news presenter brushed off the gunman’s motive, suggesting that the suspect was “clearly a troubled person”.

“So the most obvious question is why did he shoot 30 people? The truth is we don’t know,” he said during The Tucker Carlson Tonight show on Monday.

Read more here.

Tucker Carlson plays down anti-LGBT+ motive in Colorado mass shooting

Five victims identified in Colorado Springs LGBTQ club attack

09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The five victims who lost their lives in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub have been identified.

Police initially said 25 were wounded in the attack, but revised the figure down to 18 on Monday. Many suffered horrendous injuries and face a lengthy recovery.

The shooting sparked renewed calls for stricter gun laws and mourning throughout the LGBT+ community, which has been warning since the start of this year that increasingly violent political rhetoric about LGBT+ people could lead to deaths.

Here is what we know so far about the five victims of the Colorado Springs shooting.

Io Dodds reports.

Who were the people killed in the Colorado Springs LGBT+ nightclub shooting?

Police chief lists pronouns alongside victims' names

08:50 , Io Dodds

In his press conference this afternoon, Colorado Springs police chief Adrian Vasquez made a point of listing the victims according to their gender identities, rather than whatever may have been on their official records.

"We respect all of our community members, including our LGBTQ community. Therefore we will be identifying the victims by how they identified themselves, and how their families have loved and identified them," Mr Vasquez said.

He then listed the names of the victims alongside their pronouns.

Trans people frequently go through life with the wrong gender recorded on their birth certificates, passports, or other government records, often due to high barriers or costs to changing such documents.

'I just started waling away with his gun'

07:43 , Io Dodds

US army veteran Richard Fierro has given an emotional account of his bravery during the shooting, my colleague Oliver O'Connell reports.

Speaking to John Berman on the network on Monday night, Mr Fierro described what happened when the shooter began firing in Club Q on Saturday night.

He recognised that the shooter, 22-year-old Anderson Aldrich, was wearing a flak vest which has a handle on it and ran across the room, grabbed it, and pulled him to the floor.

Another person helped Mr Fierro bring Mr Aldrich to the ground and he told them to push the AR-15 rifle away.

“I then proceeded to take his other weapon, a pistol, and just started hitting him wherever I could, but the armour was in the way,” said Mr Fierro. “I found a crease between his armour and his head and I just started waling away with his gun.”

Read more about that here.

How did the Colorado shooter get his guns?

06:36 , Io Dodds

How exactly did the alleged shooter get hold of his weapons despite Colorado's 'red flag' law? The answer reveals various potential loopholes in the state's gun laws.

Media reports suggest that the weapons wielded during the attack – a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun – were purchased legally, despite the suspect's previous arrest in June 2021 for allegedly threatening his mother with a home-made bomb.

Though we don't know exactly how the guns were bought, it is notable that the local sheriff's office is opposed to Colorado's "red flag" gun law and has declared itself a "Second Amendment Sanctuary".

You can read my full story here.

Drag queen in heels helped army veteran subdue gunman

05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A former Army captain tackled the 22-year-old gunman who opened fire on an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs and beat the suspect unconscious as a drag queen in heels stomped on him.

Richard Fierro, 45, told the New York Times he was with family and friends at Club Q on Saturday night when the suspect burst in and began spraying the club with automatic gunfire.“I just knew I had to take him down,” Mr Fierro said.

As the army veteran shouted at others for help, he said that a patron moved the gunman’s rifle out of reach and a drag dancer began stomping on the suspect with her high heels.

Bevan Hurley has more.

Hero reveals how he tackled Colorado Springs gunman with help from drag queen

MTG criticised for non-sequitur response

05:30 , Io Dodds

Far right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been criticised for her response to the shooting, my colleague John Bowden in Washington DC reports.

Ms Greene’s two-tweet thread addressing the attack did not address the significance of the target, nor the wave of hate that right-wing political figures have directed at LGBT+ people and transgender Americans in particular over the past few years.

But what did raise some fury from left-leaning users on the platform was her choice to attack Mr Biden over the issue of fentanyl deaths and immigration in her response – rather a non-sequitur when the alleged shooter is a white American with family ties to a Republican state legislator.

Incidentally, the attack was stopped by a Hispanic former Army major who happily defines himself as an "immigrant".

You can read our full story here.

‘The anti-trans hate machine'

04:19 , Io Dodds

A journalist who studies how right-wing politicians and media outlets whip up hate against transgender people says the Colorado Springs shooting was a "natural result" of current conservative rhetoric.

In an interview with The Independent earlier today, Imara Jones, the head of TransLash Media and a former Clinton Administration aide, said the groundwork for the attack had been laid by a vast "anti-trans hate machine" fuelled by big conservative donors.

"There is an interlocking network of money, politicians, nonprofit organisations, think tanks, and media organisations, both online and offline, that are working to fuel anti-trans hate in this country as part of a larger white supremacist enterprise," said Ms Jones.

She described how hard-right think tanks such as the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defending Freedom propagate "copy and paste" bills attempting to restrict trans rights across multiple states.

That in turn allows local politicians to turn trans rights into a cause célèbre, Ms Jones said, while friendly media outlets portray trans people as a threat to women, children, and traditional family values.

Together, she argued, these forces combine to galvanise extremist groups, stoking an atmosphere of paranoia and panic that can spur them to take direct action.

"It's easier to minimise it and to dismiss it and to say that it's [just] lone individuals who are disturbed, when the opposite is true," she said. "There's this entire subculture... it's not an accident. Again, it is a natural consequence."

Suspect ‘had no relationship’ with his GOP politician grandfather

03:14 , Io Dodds

Sources close to California state legislator Randy Voepel have confirmed that he is the grandson of the Colorado shooting suspect, according to KCRA 3.

But the sources also said that Mr Voepel had not had a relationship with alleged shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich for nearly ten years.

They added that the 72-year-old assemblyman had not tried to interfere in the investigation into alleged bomb threats by Mr Aldrich last year.

Mr Voepel has received death threats and calls to resign since Saturday night's attack, although he cannot do the latter because he lost his seat in the midterm elections.

He has not yet made any official comment.

'I'm just some dude. That's it.'

02:20 , Io Dodds

Richard Fierro concluded his interview with these somber words:

"Those five people didn't make it home. I apologise to them. I wish I could have saved everybody in there. I wish I could have done more. Okay?

"But those people aren't home tonight. I am. And I'm really upset by that. It's not something I'm proud of. So please, point at those victims. All five of them deserve more than anyone standing here right now. I'm just some dude. That's it."

‘My family was everybody in that room'

01:55 , Io Dodds

In his interview just now, Richard Fierro came off as passionate, outspoken, and self-effacing, with an intense devotion to his community.

"I just knew I needed to save my family," he told reporters. "And that family was, at that time, everybody in that room. And that's what I was trained to do. I saw him and I went and got him.

"When I pulled him down, I told him: I wanna kill you, guy. I'm gonna f***ing kill you – " He paused for a moment to apologise for swearing. "He killed a family member. I'm an emotional guy but I try and be strong for my family."

One reporter asked him what element of his military training allowed him to rise to the moment, and he said: "Come on, man. It's the reflex. Right? It's the reflex: go! Go to the fire. Stop the action. Stop the activity. Don't let no one get hurt. I tried to bring everybody back."

When a reporter addressed him as Major, he interrupted: "Don't call me Major. I am retired. I'm proud of my service, but I'm just rich. I'm a civilian." (Our previous description of him as a former captain was incorrect.)

Describing his background, he said: "My mom and dad fought real hard to work hard. My dad was a carpenter. Two words: soy immigrante [I am an immigrant].

"I'm a family of immigrants. My mother in law – everybody's an immigrant. And I'm a rapist or whatever?" The last part was sarcasm, seemingly in reference to Donald Trump's infamous claim in 2015 that Mexico was sending "rapists" to the USA.

Asked how he left the army, he said: "The four tours broke me down, man. I'm a big kid. It's hard for me to stay in shape, it broke me down. So I was done. I couldn't go anymore. I couldn't keep up. I couldn't go anymore."

Richard Fierro: 'Listen, I'm not a hero'

01:29 , Io Dodds

Club Q hero Richard Fierro just gave an amazing interview to reporters, saying he "wasn't thinking" and operated on pure "instinct" when he tackled the shooter.

"I gotta kill this guy," he says, remembering his thinking during the incident. "He's gonna kill my kid. He's gonna kill my wife...

"Listen, I'm not a hero. There's real heroes out there. Right? I hope people that really want to be a hero go do that. Alright? Achieve it. I hope my daughter is a hero.

"I'm not a hero. I'm just some dude – we're just punk kids from San Diego trying to make it, man."

He added: "I'm straight, my kids are straight. But we go there, we patronise [the club] with them. Why? Because it's about community. It's about providing money back into theri system. Everybody needs to survive out here. I love every one of them."

Police must use Colorado's red flag law, says mayor

01:20 , Io Dodds

The mayor of Colorado Springs has given a coded rebuke to the county sheriff's department which has declared its opposition to the state's red flag law.

Sheriffs in El Paso, where the shooting suspect was previously arrested in June 2021, have declared their county a "Second Amendment Sanctuary" and banned officers from filing red flag petitions except in special circumstances.

"My view of the red flag law is that it was passed by the legislature, it is law in Colorado, and law enforcement agencies in appropriate circumstances should take advantage of it and utilise it," said city mayor John Suthers.

But he went on: "I would caution against an assumption that circumstances in this case would lead to an application of the red flag law. We don't know that, and I would caution against any conclusion either way or not."

Police chief Adrian Vasquez agreed, saying: "I would just echo the mayor's stance on the red flag law. It is currently a law in Colorado. If law enforcement has credible information that fits within the parameters of the red flag law, then we should take action on it.

"But as the mayor says we have to have the right information... to be able to do that. So if we do, then of course we should."

Why authorities may have sealed records of suspect’s bomb threats

01:03 , Io Dodds

We now know more about why the records from the suspect's previous arrest were sealed.

At the press conference earlier today, state prosecutor Michael Allen refused to comment on any of Anderson Lee Aldrich's previous interactions with law enforcement.

But he did point out that many criminal cases dismissed in the state of Colorado are automatically sealed, thanks to a bipartisan law passed in 2019.

"Colorado has very restrictive sealing laws," Mr Allen said. "What that means is that if a case is filed in a courtroom in the state of Colorado, and it is dismissed for any reason, whatever that is... it is automatically sealed.

"The idea is that that person shouldn't have to carry that charge around with them for the rest of their lives if there's no way to convict them of that charge. That's the design behind it."

Mr Allen added that the law requires authorities to say that "no such record exists" when asked about such cases.

Mayor praises 'humble' hero who tackled suspect

00:35 , Io Dodds

The mayor of Colorado Springs has praised the man who tackled the shooter to the floor, saying he had never encountered someone "so humble".

At a press conference this afternoon, Mayor John Suthers said he had met with Richard Fierro, a former US Army captain who led the charge against the attacker.

"I had the opportunity before I came here today to talk to Richard Fierro, identified as one of the two heroes that subdued the suspect in this case, and in my opinion – and I think the opinion of everyone involved – saved a lot of lives," Mr Suthers said.

“I have never encountered a person who had engaged in such heroic actions that was so humble about it. He simply said to me: ‘I was trying to protect my family’.”

'I just knew I had to take him down'

00:11 , Io Dodds

Here's our full story on Richard Fierro, the former Army captain who tackled the Colorado Springs shooter.

Mr Fierro, 45, told The New York Times he was with family and friends at Club Q on Saturday night when the suspect burst in and began spraying the club with automatic gunfire.

He said that his military training kicked in and he ran towards the gunman, grabbed him from behind by his body armour, and pulled him to the ground, before repeatedly hitting him over the head with his own pistol.

“I just knew I had to take him down,” Mr Fierro said.

My colleague Bevan Hurley explains more here.

Video: Aldrich surrenders to police in June 2021

Monday 21 November 2022 23:54 , Io Dodds

Here’s the video of Anderson Lee Aldrich surrendering to police after alleged bomb threats in June last year.

Mike Pence backed away from anti-LGBT figures before Colorado shooting

Monday 21 November 2022 22:40 , Graig Graziosi

Former vice president Mike Pence appeared to take a step back from his party’s hard-right wing stand in an interview that was taped just days before the deadly attack at a gay nightclub that has been blamed on a rising tide of anti-LGBT hate.

Mr Pence was interviewed by Margaret Brennan on CBS’s Face the Nation this past week; his remarks were broadcast on Sunday.

During the interview, he was asked about the legislation which was passed by the US Senate this week, seeking to protect the rights of same-sex marriages at the federal level.

Unlike other conservatives in his party, Mr Pence seemed to back away from the rhetoric that has been embraced by many far-right commentators such as Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo, and Tucker Carlson seeking to link LGBT+ Americans to pedophilia.

John Bowden has more.

Mike Pence backed away from anti-LGBT figures before five killed in Colorado shooting

Drag dancer ‘stomped on gunman with her high heels'

Monday 21 November 2022 22:36 , Io Dodds

The man who led the fight to subdue the gunman has described how Club Q patrons and performers rallied to his side as he wrestled the attacker to the floor.

Richard M Fierro, an Army veteran who was sitting at a table with his wife, daughter, and friends when the attack began, told The New York Times that he had gone into “combat mode”.

“I don’t know exactly what I did... I just [knew] I have to kill this guy before he kills us,” Mr Fierro said. After hitting the floor to avoid the bullets, he raced across the room, threw the gunman to the floor, and wrestled a pistol out of his hand.

Struggling with the shooter, screaming at each other, Mr Fierro called for help – and other patrons responded. One man grabbed the rifle and took it out of reach, while a drag dancer began stomping on the intruder with her high heels.

What about Colorado's 'red flag' law?

Monday 21 November 2022 22:20 , Graig Graziosi

Colorado has gun laws that are supposed to prevent dangerous people from being able to buy guns. Could they have stopped this shooting?

The Rocky Mountain state imposes background checks on all gun sales, restricts gun ownership for certain people convicted of domestic violence, and a red flag law that allows judges to seize guns from people deemed dangerous.

A man with the same name and age as the suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, was arrested last June for making bomb threats against his mother, which in theory might trigger one of these laws. But authorities dropped the case for unknown reason.

The red flag law, which came into effect on 1 January 2020, allows citizens and police officers to petition a judge to grant an “extreme risk protection order” against a gun owner they believe to be dangerous, forcing them to hand over their weapons for between 14 days and one year.

But an investigation by KUSA News found that only 60 per cent of these petitions are granted, a figure which drops to 32 per cent when they were filed by citizens rather than police officers.

Moreover, El Paso county – where Mr Aldrich was arrested last year – has declared itself a “Second Amendment sanctuary” and said it will not enforce the red flag law unless a crime was involved.

We don’t yet know how the shooter got his weapons.

Northeastern State University releases statement lamenting ‘tragic murder’ of former student Daniel Aston, who was killed in Club Q shooting

Monday 21 November 2022 22:00 , Graig Graziosi

Northeastern State University released a statement lamenting the “tragic murder” of former student Daniel Aston, 28, who was among the five killed in a mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday.

The university’s statement said it was “deeply saddened” by the news.

Dan P. Mabery, the vice president for university relations, said Mr Aston was an active member in the Oklahoma university’s LGBT student community and organisations.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib points out ‘rhetoric has consequences,’ highlighting bills pushed to ‘demonize’ LGBT people

Monday 21 November 2022 21:40 , Graig Graziosi

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib took to Twitter on Monday to point out that more than 300 bills that “demonize” LGBT people have been introduced by conservatives, and of those 22 has pased.

“State legislators nationwide have introduced 344 anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year alone, & 25 of them have passed. These bills demonize LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender youth, preventing them from accessing medical care or playing sports with friends. Rhetoric has consequences,” she wrote.

Police did not pursue charges against suspected Club Q shooter after 2021 bomb threat

Monday 21 November 2022 21:20 , Graig Graziosi

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that police in the city did not pursue charges against Anderson Lee Aldrich, whose name and age match that of the man police believe shot and killed five people and injured 18 others in a mass shooting at Club Q in the city.

Mr Aldrich was arrested and charged with two counts of felony menacing and three counts of first-degree kidnapping after a 2021 standoff with police that resulted from him allegedly making a bomb threat. Prosecutors never followed up on those charges, according to the paper.

The suspect in the Club Q shooting is currently hospitalised and has reportedly not been speaking to investigators.

What we know about the shooting suspect

Monday 21 November 2022 21:20 , Graig Graziosi

A suspect has been taken into custody after five people were killed and 25 others injured during a mass shooting inside a LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs on 19 November.

Police officers responded to the scene shortly after midnight after 911 dispatchers received “numerous” calls that there was an active shooter inside the club.

On Sunday morning, Colorado Springs Police identified the suspected shooter as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich.

He was hospitalised with undisclosed injuries.

Here’s what we know so far:

Anderson Lee Aldrich: What we know about Colorado Springs shooting suspect

Final two victims in Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs identified

Monday 21 November 2022 21:00 , Graig Graziosi

The final two victims in the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs have been identified by law enforcement.

Ashley Paugh, a mother of one, and Raymond Green were identified by police as victims in the shooting.

Ms Paugh did not identify as a member of the LGBT community but was visiting the club to see a comedian, according to her sister Stephanie Clark, who spoke with NBC News.

“It just doesn’t seem real,” Ms Clark told the outlet. “We’re heartbroken. We’re sad. We’re mad, angry.”

More information on Mr Green will be shared when it becomes available.

Bevan Hurley has more at The Independent’s story below:

Final two victims of Colorado Springs LGBT+ club shooting identified

Colorado governor orders flags to be flown at half mast to honour victims

Monday 21 November 2022 20:40 , Graig Graziosi

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has ordered flags in the state to be flown at half mast for five days in memory of the five people killed in the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs.

Five people were killed and another 18 were injured in a mass shooting on Saturday. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was named as a suspect in the shooting. He is currently recovering in the hospital and has reportedly not spoken with investigators.

Colorado Springs police chief says shooting suspect has not spoken to investigators

Monday 21 November 2022 20:25 , Graig Graziosi

Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who was named as the suspect in a shooting that killed five people at an LGBT club in the city, was not speaking with investigators.

The suspect is currently still hospitlalised.

During a Monday press conference, Mr Vasquez was asked if the suspect was being cooperative with law enforcement.

“I haven’t heard that he has not been cooperative, just simply that he is — has determined not to — to speak to investigators,” Mr Vasquez said.

Number of injured drops to 18 after initial reports suggest 25 hurt in Colorado Springs shooting

Monday 21 November 2022 20:19 , Graig Graziosi

Officials in Colorado Springs adjusted the number of those injured to 18 on Monday after initial reports suggested 25 people had been injured during a shooting at the LGBT Club Q in the city.

Of those injured, 17 suffered gunshot wounds and another was injured but not shot.

Video capture’s shooting suspect’s 2021 bomb threat encounter with police

Monday 21 November 2022 20:04 , Graig Graziosi

Footage has emerged of the suspect in a mass shooting attack on a Colorado Springs LGBT+ club surrendering to armed police officers after an unrelated bomb threat incident in 2021.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was arrested in June last year after his mother Laura Voepel called police to report he had threatened her with a homemade bomb, according to a statement from El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

Read more and see the video in Bevan Hurley’s story below at The Independent:

Colorado Springs suspect seen surrendering to police after 2021 bomb threat incident

A night of terror at an LGBT+ safe space

Monday 21 November 2022 19:50 , Graig Graziosi

A patron who survived the mass shooting at an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs has described his terror as he hid from the gunman with other clubgoers in a locked room.

Io Dodds reports.

‘This is our only safe space’: Colorado Springs shooting survivor describes terror

Monday 21 November 2022 19:29 , Graig Graziosi

Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod, the state’s first LGBTQ African American to hold office in the state assembly, appeared on “Democracy Now” to discuss the shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBT club that left five people dead and 25 others wounded.

“It’s clear why this person did this, why he went into an LGBTQ club and sprayed bullets — you know, mass destruction on people,” she said. “It’s because of the hate, right, that we hear in the rhetoric every single day, and knowing that he is connected to an extremist family is something I think we all must take note of. But make no mistake, anyone who turns on their Twitter feed or social media feed every single day can see this hate.”

She went on to say she had been targeted by an organisation online “simply for supporting trans youth.”

“The hate will not make us go back into the shadows,” she said.

Alleged video of Colorado shooter taunting police during 2021 bomb threat encounter

Monday 21 November 2022 19:11 , Graig Graziosi

The Daily Mail claims it has video of suspected Colorado shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, during a 2021 police raid at his home that occurred after he made a bomb threat.

“This is your boy, I’ve got the f***** s**theads outside. F***** s**theads got their f***** rifles out. If they breach I’m [going to] blow it to holy hell. Come on in boys, let’s f***** see it!” the man allegedly says in the video.

The suspect appears in SWAT gear and streamed his thoughts on the police response to his alleged threat over Facebook.

Ted Cruz condemned for second amendment tweet

Monday 21 November 2022 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Ted Cruz is facing backlash after he condemned the Colorado shootings with a caveat that the killings must not become an “excuse” to take away citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment.

Ted Cruz under fire for urging protection of guns in tweet about Colorado massacre

Colorado judge seals suspected shooter’s court record

Monday 21 November 2022 18:23 , Graig Graziosi

A judge in Colorado Springs has sealed the court record of Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who is accused of killing five people and injuring 25 others in a shooting at the LGBT Club Q in the city.

According to The New York Times, the judge granted prosecutors’ request to seal the records until the close of the shooting investigation.

Shooting comes after wave of threats to drag performers and venues

Monday 21 November 2022 18:01 , Oliver O'Connell

A gunman brought violence into a nightclub known as a safe haven to the LGBT+ community in Colorado Springs. The violence follows an increase in attacks, harassment, and legislation aimed at drag events, Alex Woodward reports.

Mass shooting at LGBT+ club follows wave of threats to drag performers and venues

‘The View’ host Whoopi Goldberg calls out Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s ‘thoughts and prayers’ post after Colorado shooting

Monday 21 November 2022 17:42 , Graig Graziosi

Whoopi Goldberg, one of the hosts of “The View,” called out Congresswoman Lauren Boebert after the lawmaker — and ardent supporter of gun rights — issued a “thoughts and prayers” statement in response to the shooting.

“This is what rhetoric brings,” Ms Goldberg said at the start of Monday’s show. “Words matter. And people like Lauren Boebert, who, you know, has been in the forefront of dissing LGBTQ+ people, is now saying her prayers and thoughts go with the families. Well, they don’t really need your prayers and thoughts, they needed your votes.”

Who were the gunman’s victims?

Monday 21 November 2022 17:00 , Graig Graziosi

Five people were killed on Saturday night at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Here’s what we know so far about the victims.

Who were the people killed in the Colorado Springs LGBT+ nightclub shooting?

Mother of trans victim killed in Colorado Springs points finger at legislators

Monday 21 November 2022 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The mother of a trans victim killed in the Colorado Springs shooting has demanded lawmakers to stand up for the queer community in the US.

“We need to get our legislators and our people high up to have a voice for us,” Sabrina Aston, the mother of 28-year-old victim Daniel Aston, was quoted as saying by Colorado Public Radio (CPR). “Those are our children, we do not care how you dress or what you identify as. It doesn’t harm anybody.”

Namita Singh reports.

Mother of trans victim killed in Colorado Springs points finger at legislators