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Joshua Thurman told CNN affiliate KOAA he was inside the club dancing when he heard gunshots and saw a muzzle flash.
“I thought it was the music, so I kept dancing,” he said. “Then I heard another set of shots, and then me and a customer ran to the dressing room, got on the ground and locked the doors, and called the police immediately.”
The violence lasted just minutes. Police received numerous 911 calls starting at 11:56 p.m., officers were dispatched at 11:57 p.m., an officer arrived at midnight and the suspect was detained at 12:02 a.m., police said. A total of 39 patrol officers responded, police said, and Fire Department Captain Mike Smaldino said 11 ambulances went to the scene.
The location of the shooting is reminiscent of the 2016 attack at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which a gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State killed 49 people and wounded at least 53. Colorado has been the site of some of the most heinous mass shootings in US history, including the 1999 shooting in Columbine High School and the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora.
Police said they were investigating whether the attack was a hate crime and noted Club Q’s relationship with the LGBTQ community.
“Club Q is a safe haven for our LGBTQ citizens,” Vasquez said. “Every citizen has a right to feel safe and secure in our city, to go about our beautiful city without fear of being harmed or treated poorly.”
In a statement on social media, Club Q said it was “devastated by the senseless attack on our community” and thanked “the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
Club Q posted earlier in the day that its Saturday night lineup would feature a punk and alternative show at 9 p.m. followed by a dance party at 11. The club also planned to hold a drag brunch and a drag show on Sunday for Transgender Day of Remembrance. The club’s website now says it will be closed until further notice.
Club Q was safe space for LGBTQ community
A general view of Club Q as police respond to a mass shooting there on November 20, 2022.
A general view of Club Q as police respond to a mass shooting there on November 20, 2022.
Kevin Mohatt/Reuters
Club Q opened in 2002 and was, until recently, the only LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, the state’s second-most populous city with just under 500,000 residents.
“Proudly queer Club Q has stood as a bastion of the LGBTQ community where others have fallen,” 5280 magazine reported in a story last year. “It’s where LGBTQ folks go for drag performances, dance parties, and drinks, and it supports the community with event sponsorships, pride celebrations, charity drives, and more. While the club has recently shifted to offering more low-key ‘dinner and a show’ vibes before 10 p.m., it’s still known as the place for queer young adults to go and get their dance on.”
In a July 2020 interview with Colorado Springs Indy, Club Q owner Nic Grzecka explained why he and his business partner opened the establishment.
“The whole idea of this place (Club Q) is to have a safe place – to get a permanent one in the city,” Grzecka said.
He and his business partner toured other successful LGBTQ spaces and noted a common theme: “They were gay as hell,” Grzecka told the outlet. “They had go-go dancers and drag queens and bartenders in jockstraps. We knew we had to be gay as hell (to survive).”
The venue also hosts events for people of all ages, including brunch and planned an upcoming Thanksgiving event.
Police investigating suspect’s past
A man with the same name and of the same age as the shooting suspect was arrested in June of last year in connection with a bomb threat, according to a statement from law enforcement at the time.
When asked at a news conference Sunday if it was the same person, officials said they had to follow protocol before releasing any information on prior cases.
According to a June 2021 news release from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, an Anderson Lee Aldrich was arrested that month on charges of felony menacing and first-degree kidnapping.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report by the man’s mother that he was “threatening to cause harm to her with a homemade bomb, multiple weapons, and ammunition,” according to the release. Deputies called the suspect, and he “refused to comply with orders to surrender,” the release said, leading them to evacuate nearby homes.
Several hours after the initial police call, the sheriff’s crisis negotiations unit was able to get Aldrich to leave the house, and he was arrested after walking out the front door. Authorities did not find any explosives in the home.
It was not immediately clear how the case was resolved.