Colorado shooting suspect denied bail after appearing in court
Formal charges against 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich are still being decided.
The suspect behind the mass shooting in Colorado in which five people died and 25 people were injured has been denied bail after making an initial appearance in court.
The shooting happened on Saturday (19 November 2022) at the LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q, Colorado Springs. 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich was arrested and taken to hospital after being stopped by patrons of the nightclub, including an army veteran.
Aldrich, whose lawyers have said they identify as non-binary and use they/them pronouns, appeared in court on Wednesday (23 November). While formal charges are still being figured out, Aldrich was arrested on five charges of first-degree murder and hate crime charges.
As seen in images shared by the Colorado Springs Police Department Aldrich appeared bruised and injured after they were taken to hospital following the attack.
Aldrich spoke only to confirm their name and answer procedural questions with a “yes” and “no”, as reported by Reuters.
Formal charges against Aldrich are expected to be filed in the coming days, according to El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen, who also said Aldrich’s non-binary identity would have no bearing on how the case would be prosecuted and the charges.
Allen said: “I’m looking at evidence, evidence of what occurred here. That’s what we look at when we make filing decisions,” as reported by Reuters.
Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh, and Raymond Green Vance all died in the shooting at the weekend.
Since then a disturbing video has been shared widely on social media showing Aldrich’s father, Aaron Brink, reacting to the news his son had been involved in a shooting.
“They started telling me about the incident, a shooting. I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I got scared, ‘s**t, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, phew,” he says.
Club Q has shared an official donation site to help victims of the shooting on its Facebook page.
Additionally, the donation site, Colorado Gives 365, supports the Colorado Healing Fund, created to deal with the aftermath of mass violence and provide victims with immediate and long-term support.
Greg Resha, a former employee of Club Q, is also helping to raise funds for medical and funeral expenses for the victims and families of the mass shooting.
Classroom of Compassion, an arts-focused nonprofit organisation in Los Angeles, has also set up a GoFundMe page to collect funds to set up public altars and a healing youth pop-up space in Colorado Springs to honour the victims.