On Tuesday, December 6, Anderson Lee Aldrich was formally charged with 305 counts in connection to the Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs.
As per BBC, on November 19-20 of this year, Anderson Lee Aldrich allegedly entered LGBTQ+ nightclub Club Q, armed with a handgun and an AR-15 style rifle.
The Colorado native was accused of fatally shooting five people and injuring 26 others, before they were reportedly restrained and beaten by patrons of the establishment.
Aldrich, whose attorneys referred to them as non-binary, faces charges including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, bias-motivated crimes involving bodily injury, and assault.
The Associated Press reported that if the suspect is convicted of the first-degree murder charges, he could potentially receive a life sentence.
Anderson Lee Aldrich may have been driven by homophobia, suggests attorney
After Tuesday's announcement, Colorado Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen explained that the high number of charges filed against Anderson Lee Aldrich would act as a message to the public.
Allen said:
“When you file 305 counts in a case, that tells the public, this community, this state and this nation that we are taking this case as seriously as we possibly can, meaning that we are going to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”
Allen also explained the charge of bias-motivated crimes. While Aldrich's defense team told the court the suspect identifies as non-binary, and therefore part of the LGBTQ+ community, Allen implied that the alleged killer may have been motivated by homophobia.
He said:
“We’re not going to tolerate actions against community members based on their (...) identity, those kinds of things. Members of that community have been harassed, intimidated, and abused for too long. That’s not going to occur in the Fourth Judicial District.”
News9 reported that while Allen did not provide further details of the charges, he said that many of them were related to hate crime. He did, however, note, that Aldrich's non-binary identity is also being taken into consideration.
He said:
“The wording (for bias-motivated crimes) was changed to allow (a crime) to be committed ‘in whole or in part’ based on bias. (Aldrich's gender identity) is part of the picture."
CNN reported that Matthew Haynes, who owns a stake in Club Q, also told reporters that he believed Aldrich had targeted the establishment due to its reputation as an LGBTQ+ space in Colorado Springs.
Haynes said:
“The tragedy at Club Q shows that words matter and that words have real-world consequences. We continue to call out those who spread disgusting rhetoric and encourage violence against the LGBTQ community, to end this behavior immediately before more people get hurt."
He added:
"And we urge everyone to do what they can to speak up for LGBTQ people and everyone’s right to be safe.”
Anderson Lee Aldrich is currently under the custody of Colorado authorities.
