Colorado patrons stop shooter who killed five at Club Q gay nightclub - Reuters

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov 20 (Reuters) - A gunman killed astatine slightest 5 radical and injured 25 others wrong a LGBTQ nightspot successful Colorado Springs precocious connected Saturday earlier being stopped by "heroic" clubgoers, officials said connected Sunday.

Police identified the fishy arsenic Anderson Lee Aldrich, a 22-year-old man, and said helium utilized a "long rifle." He was taken into constabulary custody soon aft the shooting began and was being treated for injuries, according to officials.

Several of the injured were successful captious information and being treated astatine section hospitals, authorities said.

Club Q, a long-standing venue successful a humble portion promenade that was described by galore arsenic a harmless haven for the section LGBTQ community, called the incidental a "hate attack" successful a connection connected Facebook. Authorities said they were investigating whether the onslaught was motivated by hate. The FBI said it was moving with instrumentality enforcement partners to find whether a national effect was warranted.

Multiple firearms were recovered astatine the venue, including the rifle, Colorado Springs Police Department Chief Adrian Vasquez told a quality league connected Sunday. Police were moving to find the ownership of the weapons.

"Club Q is simply a harmless haven for our LGBTQ citizens," helium said. "I'm truthful terribly saddened and heartbroken."

Joshua Thurman choked up arsenic helium told reporters connected Sunday that helium was dancing successful the nine erstwhile helium archetypal heard gunshots. He sought refuge successful a dressing country and locked himself wrong with others, praying for his beingness and reasoning astir loved ones.

"It's expected to beryllium our harmless place. A assemblage shouldn't person to spell done thing similar this for america to travel together," Thurman told section media, adding that 1 of his friends was killed successful the shooting.

In a connection condemning the violence, President Joe Biden said Americans cannot and indispensable not tolerate hate.

"We indispensable thrust retired the inequities that lend to unit against LGBTQI+ people," Biden said successful the statement.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who successful 2018 became the archetypal openly cheery antheral successful the state to beryllium elected arsenic a governor, called the shooting a "senseless enactment of evil."

"I consciousness that aforesaid pit successful my tummy that truthful galore of you contiguous do, a feeling sadly each excessively familiar," Polis said successful a video quality during a vigil held astatine a section church.

Police said the archetypal telephone telephone astir the shooting came successful conscionable earlier midnight, and that the fishy was apprehended wrong minutes acknowledgment to the speedy involution of instrumentality enforcement and the bravery of immoderate patrons.

A spokesperson for the metropolis of Colorado Springs said authorities were alert of a 2021 weaponry threat involving an idiosyncratic with the aforesaid sanction and commencement day arsenic the suspect, but person not officially confirmed helium is 1 and the same.

Images of the country aft the shooting showed exigency vehicles with flashing blinkers each on the thoroughfare successful beforehand of the portion mall.

By 4 a.m. section clip (1100 GMT), constabulary had taped disconnected the country astir the club, which is located successful a vicinity northeast of downtown Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest metropolis with a colonisation of conscionable implicit 480,000 people.

The Rocky Mountain authorities has a grim past of wide violence, including the 1999 shooting astatine Columbine High School and a 2012 rampage wrong a movie theatre successful a Denver suburb.

ANXIETY IN LGBTQ COMMUNITY

The shooting astatine Club Q was reminiscent of the 2016 Pulse nine massacre erstwhile a gunman killed 49 radical astatine the cheery nightclub successful Orlando, Florida, earlier helium was fatally changeable by police. At the time, it was the worst wide shooting successful caller U.S. past until a gunman killed 60 radical astatine a euphony festival successful Las Vegas successful 2017.

The shooting successful Colorado Springs unfolded arsenic LGBTQ communities and allies astir the satellite prepared to people Transgender Day of Remembrance connected Sunday, an yearly recurrence to grant victims of transphobic violence.

Anxiety wrong galore LGBTQ communities successful the United States has risen amid a divisive governmental clime and aft a drawstring of threats and convulsive incidents targeting LGBTQ radical and events successful caller months.

Reporting by Kevin Mohatt successful Colorado Springs, Keith Coffman successful Denver, Maria Caspani successful New York and Shubham Kalia successful Bengaluru; Writing by Maria Caspani; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Frances Kerry, Lisa Shumaker, Paul Simao and Daniel Wallis

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