Colorado gay club shooter identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich

The gunman who allegedly killed five people at a Colorado gay club late Saturday night before being mugged by two revelers has been identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich.

The shooting happened just before midnight at Club Q, an LGBTQ-themed venue that was hosting a drag show and a dance party, officials said.

Aldrich, 22, entered the club just before midnight and immediately began opening fire while penetrating the interior of the venue, police said at a news conference Sunday morning.

“At least two heroic people at the club confronted and fought the suspect and were able to stop the suspect from continuing to kill and harm others. We owe them a great debt of gratitude,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said.

Police arrived three minutes after receiving an emergency call and were able to arrest the suspect two minutes later, officers said.

Investigators were looking into Aldrich’s motive as they weighed hate crime charges against the suspect, who was initially believed to be a lone offender.

“Every person, regardless of who they are, has the right to be protected from fear and physical harm, and actions taken to spread fear in certain communities will not be tolerated in our community,” the prosecutor said of the Fourth Circuit, Michael Allen.

Two firearms were recovered from the scene, and witnesses told officers Aldrich opened fire with a long rifle.

In addition to Aldrich, 18 injured people were being treated at local hospitals as of Sunday morning. It was unclear if they had all been shot or if some had been injured trying to escape.

The victims’ identification was not immediately released pending notification of the family, police said.

“Every person, regardless of who they are, has the right to be protected from fear and physical harm, and actions taken to spread fear in certain communities will not be tolerated in our community,” the prosecutor said of the Fourth Circuit, Michael Allen.

The massacre wasn’t the first time a mass shooting had ravaged Colorado Springs, a city of nearly half a million people about 70 miles south of Denver.

In 2015, three people were killed and eight injured when a mad anti-abortion man opened fire on a Planned Parenthood clinic.

Saturday’s incident also brought back painful memories of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, when a Muslim man with a history of frequenting gay clubs and expressing disdain for “dirty” members of the LGBTQ community, 49 killed people.

“We are a strong community that has shown resilience to hatred and violence in the past, and we will do so again,” Mayor John Suthers said.