Shots in the Dark 😱🕊
The state of Colorado has been home to some of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Unfortunately, another mass shooting happened there just hours ago. A 22-year-old gunman opened fire on patrons in Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Five people were killed and 25 people suffered injuries. It is likely that more people would have died, if two people had not confronted the shooter and stopped him. 👀
The suspect in the shooting at Club Q was identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. He used a long rifle in the shooting, and two firearms were found at the scene….At least two people inside the club confronted and fought the gunman and prevented further violence…Police …[are] investigating whether the attack was a hate crime and [have] noted Club Q’s relationship with the LGBTQ community. 😲
~CNN
Interestingly, Aldrich had been violent in the past; in June 2021 he was arrested in June 2021 for calling in a bomb threat in a neighborhood in coutheast Colorado Springs where his mother lived; the incident escalcated and culminated in a standoff at his mother’s home; Aldrich’s mother (Laura Voepel) told police her son threatened her with a homemade bomb we well as other weapons. The neighborhood was evacuated and police shit the area down until Aldrich came out of the house he was in and surrendered to police.
There is footage from a Ring camera that shows Aldrich’s barefoot surrender to law enforcement last year after allegedly making a bomb threat. Shortly thereafter, Aldrich was charged with multiple counts of felony menacing and first-degree kidnapping; but, the charges were subsequently dropped and the records were sealed. Coincidently, Aldrich’s grandfather, Randy Voepel, is a Republsican lawmaker in California. Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO), who happens to be the first openly gay governor in the nation, issued a statement describing the attack as “horrific, sickening and devastating”. 😭
Watch Night News will continue to deliver a Diaspora-inspired perspective on news, history, and culture to your inbox every night. Saints, please pray for the people who are mourning the loved ones who died as a result of this senseless act of gun violence. 🙏🏾 Club Q opened its doors in 2002, and now it will be closed for the foreseeable future.