Colorado nightclub shooting suspect charged with murder, hate crimes

DENVER - The suspect of killing five people inside a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub last month before patrons stopped the attack was formally charged with murder, hate crimes and assault on Tuesday.

Anderson Lee Aldrich appeared for a hearing in El Paso District Court, where the charges against the 22-year-old were read. Aldrich has been held without bond since the Nov 19 rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs. 22 others were killed by shotgun wounds or other injuries, according to the five killed.

Aldrich, who was wearing yellow jail clothing and sitting at a table with defense attorneys, did not speak during the hearing. Aldrich did not enter a plea to the 305 charges that were filed.

Aldrich, who was clad in body armor, stormed the club armed with a rifle and handgun and opened fire indiscriminately, police and witnesses said.

The bodies were identified as Kelly Loving, 40, Daniel Aston, 28, Derrick Rump, 38, Ashley Paugh, 34 and Raymond Green Vance, 22.

Two men with military backgrounds subdued Aldrich until police arrived. A former Army major and decorated Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, Richard Fierro, told reporters he disarmed Aldrich and pistol-whipped the suspect into submission.

In a booking photo and during an earlier court appearance, Aldrich appeared battered, apparently because of a beating by the bar patrons. On Tuesday, Aldrich's face and neck did not appear to be bruised.

The other man who subdued Aldrich, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas James, said in a written statement that he just wanted to save the family I found. Authorities have not publicly identified a motive, but the Colorado shooting was reminiscent of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, where a gunman killed 49 people before police shot him dead.

Aldrich faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder.

Colorado no longer has a death-penalty statute. Aldrich could face a death sentence in federal court if prosecutors decide to bring charges under the US code, which still has capital punishment on its books for certain crimes.

Lawyers assigned to represent Aldrich from the Colorado public defender's office said in court filings that their client identifies as nonbinary and prefers them and them pronouns.

District attorney Michael Allen said after Aldrich's initial court appearance on November 23 that the suspect's gender identity would have no bearing on how the case would be prosecuted. Allen told reporters he thought evidence supported bias motivated charges.

Allen told reporters after the hearing that we're not going to tolerate actions against community members based on sexual identity. Members of the community have been harassed, intimidated and abused for too long. Prosecutors were due to present evidence at the next hearing, scheduled for February 22 -- 24.

Aldrich was previously arrested in Colorado Springs in June 2021 after he threatened to detonate a bomb and harm her mother with multiple weapons, according to a news release from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.