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☆ A Mother Had Three Minutes to Address Her Son’s Killer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jack Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The night before Adriana Vance addressed her son’s killer in a Colorado courtroom, she was still searching for the right words. She had spent days struggling to write a statement about her son, Raymond Green Vance, 22, one of the five people killed last November in a shooting rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Image Raymond Green Vance, 22, had just gotten a new job and was saving for his own apartment when he was killed in a mass shooting. Courtesy of the family of Raymond Green VanceBecause most mass shooters do not live to see a trial, there is often no such moment after their attacks. Should those minutes be spent focusing on lost loved ones, or condemning the killer, or even offering forgiveness, as families did after a racist massacre inside a Charleston church?

Persons: Adriana Vance, Raymond Green Vance, dangled, Raymond’s, Vance, “, ” Organizations: Q Locations: Colorado, Colorado Springs, American, Parkland, Fla, Pittsburgh, Charleston

El Paso County Court/Handout... Read moreJune 26 (Reuters) - A 23-year-old pleaded guilty on Monday to murder and other crimes in a 2022 shooting that killed five people at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. Anderson Lee Aldrich faces life in prison without the possibility of parole after reaching an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to five first-degree murder counts and 46 attempted murder counts. On Nov. 19, 2022, Aldrich, wearing body armor, opened fire at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub. The deal with prosecutors called for Aldrich to be sentenced on Monday immediately following the guilty plea. Those killed in the shooting were identified as Aston, 28; Kelly Loving, 40; Derrick Rump, 38; Ashley Paugh, 34; and Raymond Green Vance, 22.

Persons: Anderson Lee Aldrich, Read, Aldrich, Jeff Aston, Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh, Raymond Green Vance, Aldrich's, Joseph Ax, Rami Ayyub, Rich McKay, Grant McCool Organizations: Paso County Court, Q, U.S, Aston, El, El Paso County Sheriff’s, Thomson Locations: Colorado Springs , Colorado, Paso County, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Orlando , Florida, El Paso County

☆ Accused Club Q Shooter Pleads Guilty in Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Jack Healy | Kelley Manley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aldrich offered no details about why they carried out the shooting, and little explanation beyond a bare-bones admission using legal language. They did not directly admit to committing hate crimes in targeting Club Q, but instead said they were pleading “no contest” because it was likely that they would be convicted at trial. The five people killed that night were Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump, who were employees of Club Q, and Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance and Ashley Paugh, who were Club Q patrons. “Those are my friends’ lives,” said Ashtin Gamblin, who was hit with nine shots as she worked the door of Club Q on the night of the attack. There’s absolutely no doubt why he chose Club Q.”

Persons: Aldrich, “, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance, Ashley Paugh, ”, ’, Ashtin Gamblin Organizations: Q, Prosecutors

☆ Colorado suspect set to be charged for LGBTQ club shooting that killed five
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Keith Coffman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Flowers, candles, and mementos are left at a memorial after a mass shooting at LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. November 26, 2022. DowningDENVER, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The suspect in the fatal shooting of five people in a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub last month is set to be formally charged on Tuesday, potentially facing dozens of counts including murder, attempted murder, assault and hate crimes. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, has been held without bond at the El Paso County jail stemming from the Nov. 19 rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Although authorities have not publicly identified a motive, the Colorado shooting was reminiscent of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florid, where a gunman killed 49 people before police shot him dead. If convicted of first-degree murder, Aldrich faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

☆ Colorado Springs suspect identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronounces, defense lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The alleged shooter facing possible hate crime charges in the fatal shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub is nonbinary, the suspect’s defense team says in court filings. The motive in the shooting was still under investigation, but authorities said Aldrich faces possible murder and hate crime charges. Hate crime charges would require proving that the shooter was motivated by bias, such as against the victims’ actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Club Q remains cordoned off by police tape on Nov. 22, 2022 in Colorado Springs. Local and federal authorities have declined to answer questions about why hate crime charges were being considered.

Aldrich, 22, had been in a hospital from early Sunday morning until Tuesday, before being transferred to El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs. [1/7] Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, the suspect in the mass shooting that killed five people and wounded 17 at an LGBTQ nightclub appears showing facial injuries in police booking photographs released in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. November 23, 2022. Colorado Springs Police Department /Handout via REUTERS 1 2 3 4 5Defense lawyers declined to comment after the hearing. Police initially held Aldrich on arrest charges of five counts of first-degree murder and bias crimes stemming from the Saturday night killings. El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen said after the hearing he expected to file formal criminal charges at the defendant's next court hearing, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 6.

Military veteran Richard Fierro's selfless response when a gunman opened fire in a Colorado gay club is being lauded by the nation's oldest Latino civil rights organization. He said he did what he was trained to do as a 15-year Army veteran who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fierro and Jessica, who live in Colorado Springs, own a brewery called Atrevida, which in Spanish means brazen. 'Leaped into the breach'The nation's string of mass shootings in recent years have claimed the lives of many Latino victims. He said LULAC invited Fierro and his family to Washington, D.C., to receive the award or it would give it to him in a ceremony in Colorado Springs.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov 21 (Reuters) - Amid the blood and chaos of a mass shooting in a Colorado LGTBQ club, two men emerged from the crowd to subdue the gunman. Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers identified the "two heroes" as Rich Fierro and Thomas James. Suthers told a news conference on Monday they "saved a lot of lives" at Club Q in Colorado Springs late Saturday. The dead included the boyfriend of the Fierros' daughter, Fierro's wife Jess said in a post on her family brewery's Facebook page. Speaking from her doorstep, Jess Fierro told Reuters the violence sparked her husband' s post traumatic stress disorder.

Nov 22 (Reuters) - The suspect in the mass shooting that killed five people and wounded 17 at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub has been transferred to jail from the hospital where he was in police custody, police said on Tuesday. "CSPD has turned over custody of the Club Q suspect to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at the jail," the Colorado Springs Police Department said on Twitter. Prosecutors said that once he was out of the hospital, they expected to file formal criminal charges that may differ. James, a Navy information systems technician second class, was injured in the Colorado Springs shooting and was hospitalized in stable condition Tuesday, the Navy said in a statement. James is an 11-year-Navy veteran stationed in Colorado Springs, the Navy said, asking that his privacy be respected.

The victims of the shooting at the LGBTQ-friendly Club Q in Colorado Springs include two bartenders, the mother of an 11-year-old girl and two other clubgoers who were enjoying a carefree night before a lone gunman started firing indiscriminately. "He lit up a room, always smiling, always happy and silly," said his mom, Sabrina Aston, who lives in Colorado Springs. We’re mad, angry.”Paugh, who is not part of the LGBTQ community, spent Saturday in Colorado Springs with a female friend. Jessica Fierro said she was at Club Q with her husband, their daughter and friends to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Daniel Arkin reported from New York; Deon J. Hampton reported from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

☆ Army Veteran Went Into ‘Combat Mode’ to Disarm the Club Q Gunman
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Dave Philipps | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

The mayor said he had spoken to Mr. Fierro and was struck by his humility. Mr. Fierro started to go for it, but then saw the gunman come up with a pistol in his other hand. As he held the man down and slammed the pistol down on his skull, Mr. Fierro started barking orders. A person was passing by, and Mr. Fierro said he ordered her to stomp the attacker with her high heels. The whole time, Mr. Fierro said, he kept pummeling the shooter with the pistol while screaming obscenities.

Persons: Richard M, Fierro, Mr, Anderson Lee Aldrich, “, John Suthers, Jess, Kassandra, Raymond Green Vance, Fierro’s, ”, Afghanistan he’d, I’ve Organizations: Q, Army, Star, Atrevida Locations: COLORADO, Iraq, Afghanistan, ”

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