“A community shouldn’t have to go through something like this for us to come together. This is our home. This is our space,” said Joshua Thurman, a witness.
The LGBTQ+ community in Colorado are “broken” after the fatal shooting at Club Q, a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, that left five dead and over a dozen injured.
In a separate comment reported by local news station KOAA News 5, Thurman, who was present during the shooting, said: “As a Black kid it’s taboo to be gay, so coming here, this is one of the first places that I felt accepted to be who I am. It’s supposed to be our safe place. A community shouldn’t have to go through something like this for us to come together. This is our home. This is our space. We come here to enjoy ourselves, and this happens?”
Police said that 25 people were wounded after a gunman used a long rifle to open fire inside the club, NBC News reported. The shooter’s motive remains unclear at the moment, according to police. Authorities identified the shooter as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich.
Lieutenant Pamela Castro told reporters in a press briefing on Sunday that Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) officers were first notified about the shooting at 11:56 p.m. on Saturday night. The first officer was dispatched to the scene a minute later and police arrived at Club Q around midnight.
