FBI confirms Gazette report that it received tip in 2021 about Club Q suspect

Carol Mckinley, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
·3 min read
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Dec. 7—The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday confirmed the agency received information a day before authorities arrested Anderson Lee Aldrich, the suspect in the Club Q shooting where five people died, for allegedly threatening family members in 2021.

"As part of the assessment, the FBI coordinated with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, which arrested Aldrich on June 18, 2021," the FBI said in a statement.

That information was first reported by the Gazette, which learned that the Club Q suspect's family had reached out to the bureau for help in June of last year.

On June 17, 2021, a relative who wished to go unnamed told The Gazette that Jonathan Pullen, Anderson Lee Aldrich's grandfather, called, crying, fearful for his life and hiding from Aldrich in a closet. The relative told The Denver Gazette that Pullen was whispering so Aldrich couldn't hear him making the phone call. The relative, frantic with worry, told the FBI that Aldrich was dangerous and had been threatening the grandfather.

The FBI took a report and instructed the relative to contact Colorado Springs law enforcement. The relative repeated these concerns about Aldrich to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. The relative asked deputies to check the home on Rubicon Drive, where Aldrich lived in the basement. When deputies got to the door, Jonathan Pullen and his wife, Pam, told them that everything was fine and that their grandson was asleep, the relative said.

When El Paso County deputies then called the relative to report that all was well.

On June 18, the next day, Aldrich's grandparents called 911 from their Colorado Springs home, saying Aldrich was building a bomb in the basement and had threatened to kill them. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office responded to the call and arrested Aldrich, now 22, on felony menacing and kidnapping charges.

About a month after getting the tip, the FBI closed its assessment of Aldrich.

"With state charges pending, the FBI closed its assessment on July 15, 2021," the FBI said.

Those charges were later dropped for unknown reasons. Under Colorado law, cases that are dismissed by either prosecutors or a judge are automatically sealed.

Sgt. Jason Garrett, a spokesperson for the county sheriff's office, declined to comment either on the FBI's statement or whether his agency received any tips about Aldrich before Aldrich's 2021 arrest, citing the law that automatically seals criminal records when cases are entirely dismissed.

Following the call from the relative, El Paso County law enforcement visited the Rubicon Drive home and was told Aldrich was asleep. According to the family, Pam and Jonathan Pullen sent law enforcement away, telling deputies that they were planning to move to Florida.

Within minutes following the house call, law enforcement phoned the reporting relative and reassured that person that Anderson's grandparents were OK.

The family who spoke with Jonathan Pullen after the incident said that Aldrich overheard the comment and about moving to Florida and became upset.

The information conveyed to the FBI marks the earliest known instance of law enforcement officials being warned about Aldrich.

An FBI assessment is the lowest level, least intrusive and most elementary stage of an FBI inquiry. Such assessments are routinely opened after agents receive a tip.

Denver Gazette reporter Dennis Huspeni contributed to this report.