The man accused of killing five people in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs is facing hate crime charges. An additional 25 people were injured before bystanders intervened and stopped the gunman.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, is currently hospitalized and is expected to be arraigned on five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of a bias-motivated crime that caused bodily injury. Aldrich could be released from the hospital by Monday (November 21) afternoon.
Police said that Aldrich used two guns, an AR-style rifle and a handgun, which he purchased legally before the attack. Matthew Haynes and Nic Grzecka, co-owners of Club Q, told the New York Times they reviewed surveillance footage which showed Aldrich was wearing a military-style flak jacket when he stormed inside the club.
The shooting lasted just over a minute before clubgoers managed to take the handgun away from Aldrich and subdue him before the police arrived.
“We know that at least one patron was able to wrestle the gun away from him and use that gun to disable them, not by shooting them, but by hitting them, an incredible, heroic action that undoubtedly saved lives,” Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers told CNN.
Aldrich reportedly had no history with the club prior to the attack.