Club Q Colorado shooting: Patron used shooter's gun to subdue him - mayor

People astatine a cheery nine successful the US authorities of Colorado person been hailed arsenic heroes for subduing a gunman and preventing a deadly shooting from being adjacent worse.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said 1 patron grabbed the attacker's ain weapon and deed him with it during the shooting successful Club Q connected Saturday night.

Another club-goer reportedly helped to support the gunman pinned down until constabulary arrived.

The gunman killed 5 radical and injured 25 much earlier being arrested.

The suspect, named by constabulary arsenic 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, is present successful constabulary custody.

Mayor Suthers described the involution of respective club-goers arsenic an "incredible enactment of heroism".

"The telephone came into the constabulary astatine 11:57pm. Police were connected the country by 12:00 - an amazingly speedy response," helium told CNN.

"This incidental was implicit by 12:02, and that's mostly due to the fact that of the involution of astatine slightest one, perchance two, precise heroic individuals who subdued this guy... appears to person taken his handgun with them... and utilized it to disable him... not sprout but deed him with the gun, and disable him.

"But for that, arsenic tragic arsenic this incidental is, it's a horrible crime, it could person been much, overmuch worse but for these heroic actors," the politician added.

Governor of Colorado Jared Polis, who is gay, praised the "brave individuals who blocked the gunman, apt redeeming lives successful the process".

Matthew Haynes, 1 of the nine owners, told the New York Times that "dozens and dozens of lives" had been saved.

At an earlier quality conference, constabulary main Adrian Vasquez made akin comments.

"Initial grounds and interviews bespeak that the fishy entered Club Q and instantly began shooting astatine radical wrong arsenic helium moved further into the club.

"While the fishy was wrong of the club, astatine slightest 2 heroic radical wrong the nine confronted and fought with the fishy and were capable to halt the fishy from continuing to termination and harm others.

"We beryllium them a large indebtedness of thanks," Mr Vasquez said.

Police are inactive trying to corroborate precisely however galore radical were injured, adding that immoderate radical took themselves to hospital.

An probe is present nether mode to find whether the shooting was a hatred crime, and if much than 1 idiosyncratic was involved.

A connection connected the Club Q Facebook page thanked "the speedy reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hatred attack".

"Club Q is devastated by the senseless onslaught connected our community," it added.

The venue was hosting a creation enactment astatine the clip of the attack, and had planned to clasp a show lawsuit connected Sunday evening to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Joshua Thurman, 34, was successful the nine astatine the clip of the shooting.

At archetypal helium thought the shots were portion of the music, helium told the Colorado Sun, but helium aboriginal ran to instrumentality structure successful the nine dressing room.

"When I came retired determination were bodies connected the floor, shattered glass, breached cups, radical crying," helium said.

"There was thing keeping that antheral from coming successful to termination us. Why did this person to happen? Why? Why did radical person to suffer their lives?"

Mr Thurman, who lives adjacent the club, said it was an important portion of the section cheery community. He believes helium knows 1 idiosyncratic who was killed.

The authorities of Colorado has seen different wide shootings, including astatine a supermarket successful Boulder successful 2021 successful which 10 radical were killed.

In 2015, 3 radical were killed successful a shooting astatine a Planned Parenthood Clinic successful Colorado Springs.

President Joe Biden said Americans "cannot and indispensable not tolerate hate".

In a connection from the White House, helium said: "Places that are expected to beryllium harmless spaces of acceptance and solemnisation should ne'er beryllium turned into places of panic and violence. Yet it happens acold excessively often.

"We indispensable thrust retired the inequities that lend to unit against LGBTQI+ people."

In 2016, 49 radical were killed successful a shooting astatine the Pulse cheery nine successful Orlando, Florida. At the clip it was the deadliest wide shooting successful US history.