Authorities in Colorado have filed charges Monday against the 22-year-old suspect alleged to have killed five people and wounded 25 others in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs over the weekend.
Anderson Lee Aldrich is facing five counts of first-degree murder after deliberation and five counts of a bias-motivated crime that caused bodily injury following the mass shooting at Club Q, KDVR is reporting, citing the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The latter charges suggest authorities are considering the attack a hate crime, KDVR added.
Aldrich, who is currently hospitalized after being taken into custody early Sunday, could be released this afternoon and possibly appear in court today, KDVR also reported, citing District Attorney Michael Allen.
As RTM previously reported:
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez identified the suspect as Andersen Lee Aldridge, 22, during a Sunday news conference.
“I’m so terribly sad and heartbroken,” Vasquez said sorrowfully as he described details of the mass murder.
Police received the initial call for service at 11:56 p.m. last night and the first officer was dispatched one minute later, at 11:57 p.m. The first responders were on scene three minutes later and within two minutes after arriving had detained and arrested a suspect, police said.
The police chief described Club Q, where the shooting occurred, as a safe haven for LGBTQ citizens of the community.
The Colorado law enforcement officer declared that five individuals were fatally shot and at least 18 others suffered gunshot wounds in the Club Q incident. He revealed Aldridge allegedly used a long rifle to shoot victims Saturday night.
Vasquez added two handguns were found at the scene and investigators are working to determine who owned them.
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