COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The man suspected of opening fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs is being held on murder and hate crimes charges.
The charges surfaced in online court records Monday, two days after the attack that killed five people and wounded many others. The charges were preliminary, and prosecutors had not filed them in court.
The records showed that 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich faced five murder charges and five charges of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury in Saturday night’s attack at Club Q.
Officials on Monday revised the number of people hurt down to 18, including 17 who suffered gunshot wounds.
Information on a lawyer who could speak on Aldrich’s behalf wasn’t immediately available Monday.
A law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity has said the suspect used an AR-15-style semiautomatic weapon in Saturday night’s attack.
Remembering the victims
‘Master of Silly Business’ among 5 dead in Colorado shooting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Daniel Aston would let loose on a typical night at Club Q in Colorado Springs as a bartender and entertainer, sliding across the stage on all fours.
The venue provided Aston, a 28-year-old transgender man and the self-proclaimed “Master of Silly Business,” with the liberating spotlight he had long sought.
But on Saturday it became the site of the latest mass shooting in the U.S. when a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle opened fire and killed Aston and four others.
Twenty-five others were injured.
