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After allegedly killing five people and injuring more than a dozen others, the 22-year-old suspect in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., apologized to medical staff after being taken into custody on sight, according to an unsealed court document. Wednesday.
Anderson Lee Aldrich is accused of opening fire at Club Q just before midnight on November 19 and has been charged with 305 counts including first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, assault and felony. by prejudice causing bodily harm.
After the suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment, officers “overheard Anderson telling medical staff that he was sorry and had been awake for four days,” according to the partially redacted affidavit.
Aldrich reportedly walked into the club, well known to Colorado Springs’ LGBTQ community, with an AR weapon and a handgun and immediately began shooting into the crowd.
The suspect was quickly tackled to the ground by two patrons, Richard Fierro and Thomas James, who disarmed and overpowered Aldrich until police arrived.
The previously sealed probable cause affidavit details sightings documented immediately after the shooting.
It provides insight into the moments before and after the tragedy, which claimed the lives of Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, Derrick Rump and Raymond Green Vance. At least 19 other people were injured, police said, most of whom suffered gunshot wounds.
In the hours leading up to the shooting, Aldrich — whose attorneys say they identify as non-binary and use the pronouns they/them — planned to see a movie at 10 p.m. with their mother, Laura Voepel, according to the affidavit, which cites the a detective’s conversation with Voepel after the shooting.
But Aldrich left before the movie, telling Voepel they were going on a “run” that would take 15 minutes, the affidavit says.
“Laura said she didn’t see Anderson when he left and she didn’t know if he took anything with him. Laura said Anderson took his phone with him and she had not seen him since,” according to the affidavit.
Voepel told the detective that she and Aldrich “had no weapons other than a folding pocket knife belonging to Anderson,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also contains two surveillance video screenshots from the night of the shooting, one showing a person who police believe is Aldrich exiting an SUV and another of that person shooting while entering the club. The SUV is registered to Aldrich, according to the court document.
“When Anderson exited the driver’s door of the vehicle, it was obvious he was wearing a ballistic vest and carrying an AR-15 style assault rifle. He walked into the business and, after walking into the ‘enterprise at a short distance, he opened fire indiscriminately on patrons inside the club,’ the affidavit states.
When officers began arriving at the scene, they saw casualties inside and outside the club, according to the affidavit.
As police and lifeguards rushed to the club to treat the injured, officers first incorrectly noted that Aldrich “may have suffered a gunshot wound to the head”.
Aldrich “was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries. Initial reports indicate that Anderson may have been shot in the head. Anderson is believed to have survived his injuries,” the affidavit read.
The Public Defender’s Office, which represents Aldrich, previously declined all requests for comment, citing office policy. He is being held without bond and has not yet pleaded guilty.
If Aldrich is found guilty, the first-degree murder charges alone carry a sentence of up to life in prison without parole, Colorado’s Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen said in a statement. press conference earlier this week.
“When you file 305 charges in a case, it signals to the public, to this community, to this state and to this nation that we take this case as seriously as possible,” Allen told reporters on Tuesday. “That means we will pursue this matter to the fullest extent of the law.”
Aldrich is then due to appear in court on February 22 for a preliminary hearing.
