Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ club mass killer gets life in prison
The person who killed five people and pleaded guilty in a 2022 mass shooting at a LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs has been sentenced to life in prison. Authorities said Anderson Lee Aldrich walked into Club Q just before midnight on Nov. 19 and began indiscriminately firing an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle.
1/23
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VIDEO BY AP
The suspect in a shooting that killed five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub last fall has pleaded guilty in the attack. The plea spares victims’ families and survivors a long and potentially painful trial.
2/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Club Q, the LGBTQ venue that was the site of a deadly 2022 shooting that killed five people, is seen on Wednesday, June 7, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Anderson Lee Aldrich, the suspect in the mass shooting at the club, is expected to strike a plea deal to state murder and hate charges that would ensure at least a life sentence for the attack that killed five people and wounded 17, several survivors told The Associated Press in 2023.3/23
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4TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE VIA AP
This image provided by state prosecutors shows surveillance video of Club Q shooting suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich firing a weapon in the Colorado Springs, Colo., venue on Nov. 19, 2022.4/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
People visit a memorial outside Club Q, the LGBTQ nightclub that was the site of a deadly 2022 shooting that killed five people, on Wednesday, June 7, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Anderson Lee Aldrich faces more than 300 state counts, including murder and hate crimes. And the U.S. Justice Department is considering filing federal hate crime charges, according to a senior law enforcement official familiar with the matter who spoke to AP in 2023 on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case.5/23
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COLORADO SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA AP
This booking photo provided by the Colorado Springs, Colo., Police Department shows Anderson Lee Aldrich, the suspect in a mass shooting that killed five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub last year, who pleaded guilty in the attack on Monday, June 26.6/23
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Noah Reich, left, and David Maldonado, the Los Angeles co-founders of Classroom of Compassion, set up a memorial near Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Nov. 22, 2022, with photographs of the five victims of a mass shooting at the gay nightclub.7/23
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RJ SANGOSTI/THE DENVER POST VIA AP, POOL
Friends and family arrive for a memorial service for Daniel Aston at Shove Memorial Chapel on the Colorado College campus on Dec. 7, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Aston, a 28-year-old transgender man, was one of five people killed in the Club Q mass shooting on Nov. 19.8/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Memorials are displayed outside Club Q, the LGBTQ nightclub that was the site of a deadly 2022 shooting that killed five people, on Wednesday, June 7, in Colorado Springs, Colo.9/23
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A long line of people wait to clear security to enter the El Paso County Terry R. Harris Judicial Complex, Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. A hearing is being held for the suspect in the Club Q mass shooting. The suspect is expected to plead guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded 17 just before Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.10/23
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Michael J. Allen, left, district attorney for Colorado's Fourth Judicial District, heads into a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect is expected to plead guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded 17 just before Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.11/23
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COLORADO JUDICIAL BRANCH VIA AP
In this image taken from video provided by the Colorado Judicial Branch, Anderson Lee Aldrich, left, the suspect in a mass shooting that killed five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub last year, appears in court Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo., where they pleaded guilty in the attack. The defendant faces life in prison on the murder charges under the plea agreement.12/23
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Michael Anderson, vice president of operations for Club Q, wears a button of support after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022, at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.13/23
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Wyatt Kent, center front, a performer at Club Q during a mass shooting in November 2022, hugs a person outside the courthouse after a hearing for the shooting suspect Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022, at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.14/23
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Colorado Springs, Colo., Mayor Yemi Mobolade, back, consoles Adriana Vance, who lost her son in the massacre at Club Q in November 2022, during a news conference after a hearing for the shooting suspect Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022, at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.15/23
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Adriana Vance, front, who lost her son, Raymond, in the massacre at Club Q, is consoled by Colorado Springs, Colo., Mayor Yemi Mobolade during a news conference after a hearing for the shooting suspect Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022, at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.16/23
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Michael J. Allen, district attorney for Colorado's Fourth Judicial District, responds to a question during a news conference after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded 17 just before Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.17/23
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Mark Michalek, FBI special agent in charge of the Denver field office, responds to a question during a news conference after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.18/23
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Colorado Springs, Colo., Mayor Yemi Mobolade considers a question during a news conference after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.19/23
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Jeff Aston, right, speaks as his wife, Sabrina, both of Tulsa, Okla., respond to a question about their son, Daniel Aston, who was killed in the massacre at Club Q in November 2022, during a news conference after a hearing for the suspect Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022, at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.20/23
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Ashtin Gamblin, left, who was shot during the massacre at Club Q in November 2022, responds to a question during a news conference after a hearing for the shooting suspect Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city. Looking on is Gamblin's mother, Cheryo Norton of Chicago.21/23
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Michael Anderson, center, vice president of operations at Club Q, is hugged by R.J. Lewis, right, as Anderson's brother, Tim, of Tampa, looks on outside the courthouse after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022, at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.22/23
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Michael Anderson, front, vice presient of operations at Club Q, is hugged by his brother, Tim, of Tampa, after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022, at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.23/23
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A man wears a shirt with the name of Daniel Davis Aston, who was one of the victims of the mass shooting at Club Q, during a news conference after a hearing for the suspect in the massacre at the gay nightclub Monday, June 26, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The suspect pleaded guilty in the attack that left five people dead and wounded multiple others just before Thanksgiving Day 2022 at the longtime sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in this mostly conservative city.
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