Deprecated: strpos(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($haystack) of type string is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 7300

Deprecated: str_replace(): Passing null to parameter #3 ($subject) of type array|string is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 2189

Deprecated: Optional parameter $post_id declared before required parameter $field is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/acf-value-functions.php on line 54

Deprecated: Optional parameter $value declared before required parameter $field is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/acf-value-functions.php on line 166

Deprecated: Optional parameter $post_id declared before required parameter $field is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/acf-value-functions.php on line 166

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ACF::$fields is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/fields.php on line 138

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ACF::$locations is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/locations.php on line 129

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ACF::$json is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/json.php on line 185

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_loop::$loops is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/loop.php on line 28

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ACF::$loop is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/loop.php on line 269

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ACF::$revisions is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/revisions.php on line 397

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_validation::$errors is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/validation.php on line 28

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ACF::$validation is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/validation.php on line 214

Deprecated: Optional parameter $key declared before required parameter $value is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/ajax/class-acf-ajax.php on line 78

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_form_customizer::$preview_values is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/forms/form-customizer.php on line 28

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_form_customizer::$preview_fields is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/forms/form-customizer.php on line 29

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_form_customizer::$preview_errors is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/forms/form-customizer.php on line 30

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ACF::$form_front is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/forms/form-front.php on line 598

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_form_widget::$preview_values is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/forms/form-widget.php on line 34

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_form_widget::$preview_reference is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/forms/form-widget.php on line 35

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_form_widget::$preview_errors is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/forms/form-widget.php on line 36

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property WC_Gateway_PPEC_Plugin::$gateway_loader is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/woocommerce-gateway-paypal-express-checkout/includes/class-wc-gateway-ppec-plugin.php on line 371

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property WC_Gateway_PPEC_Plugin::$admin is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/woocommerce-gateway-paypal-express-checkout/includes/class-wc-gateway-ppec-plugin.php on line 372

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property WC_Gateway_PPEC_Plugin::$checkout is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/woocommerce-gateway-paypal-express-checkout/includes/class-wc-gateway-ppec-plugin.php on line 373

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property WC_Gateway_PPEC_Plugin::$cart is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/woocommerce-gateway-paypal-express-checkout/includes/class-wc-gateway-ppec-plugin.php on line 374

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property WC_Gateway_PPEC_Plugin::$ips is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/woocommerce-gateway-paypal-express-checkout/includes/class-wc-gateway-ppec-plugin.php on line 375

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property WC_Gateway_PPEC_Plugin::$client is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/woocommerce-gateway-paypal-express-checkout/includes/class-wc-gateway-ppec-plugin.php on line 376

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_field_oembed::$width is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/fields/class-acf-field-oembed.php on line 31

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_field_oembed::$height is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/fields/class-acf-field-oembed.php on line 32

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_field_google_map::$default_values is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/fields/class-acf-field-google-map.php on line 33

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_field__group::$have_rows is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/includes/fields/class-acf-field-group.php on line 31

Deprecated: Optional parameter $i declared before required parameter $post_id is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-repeater.php on line 719

Deprecated: Optional parameter $i declared before required parameter $post_id is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-repeater.php on line 783

Deprecated: Optional parameter $name declared before required parameter $field is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-flexible-content.php on line 1029

Deprecated: Optional parameter $i declared before required parameter $post_id is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-flexible-content.php on line 1066

Deprecated: Optional parameter $i declared before required parameter $post_id is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-flexible-content.php on line 1116

Deprecated: Optional parameter $id declared before required parameter $field is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-gallery.php on line 297

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_field_clone::$cloning is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-clone.php on line 34

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property acf_field_clone::$have_rows is deprecated in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/pub/plugins/wplocalplus/include/acf/pro/fields/class-acf-field-clone.php on line 35
5 killed, 18 injured in Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub shooting – Cincy Link
News

5 killed, 18 injured in Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub shooting

A 22-year-old gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 18 before he was subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who were on the scene within minutes, authorities said Sunday.Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at Club Q after the Saturday night shooting, said Police Chief Adrian Vasquez.Investigators were still determining a motive, and the attack was being investigated to see if it should be prosecuted as a hate crime, said El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen.Police identified the gunman as Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was in custody and being treated for injuries. A man with the same name and age was arrested in 2021 after his mother reported he threatened her with “a homemade bomb, multiple weapons and ammunition,” according to authorities.Video below: Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez press conferencePolice did not confirm whether it was the same person, saying they were investigating whether the suspect had been arrested before.Authorities were called to the Club Q at 11:57 p.m. Saturday with a report of a shooting, and the first officer arrived at midnight.“At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, Vasquez said, adding: “We owe them a great debt of thanks.” Of the 18 people injured, some were in critical condition and at least two had been treated and released, officials said, adding that some were hurt trying to flee.The shooting brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.It was the sixth mass killing this month and came in a year when the nation was shaken by the deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. The FBI said it was assisting but said the police department was leading the investigation.President Joe Biden said that while the motive for the shootings was not yet clear, “we know that the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years.”“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often,” he said. “We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, said the news was “sickening.”.“My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured, and traumatized in this horrific shooting. I have spoken with Mayor (John) Suthers and clarified that every state resource is available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn.”Ryan Johnson, who lives near Club Q and was there last month, said it was one of only two night spots for the LGBTQ community in conservative-leaning Colorado Springs. “It’s kind of the go-to for pride,” the 26-year-old said, describing it as a medium-sized club.When he got home early Sunday, he saw police cars crowding the streets.“It just feels crazy, you hear about it and you don’t think it’ll happen and then it happens,” said Johnson. “You come to Colorado and feel safer than other parts of the country and then this happens.”Video below: Scene after shooting at Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclubRobert Nichols, 35, said he searched frantically Sunday for a friend who had told him she would be at the club and hadn't returned his calls. He said that led to some “anxiety inducing” hours before seeing the friend's car outside her home and deciding she was OK.Although a motive wasn’t yet clear, nor were the gender identities of the victims, the incident came as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. It said its prayers were with victims and families, adding: “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.” The CEO of a national LGBTQ-rights organization, Kevin Jennings of Lambda Legal, reacted with a plea for tighter restrictions on guns.“America’s toxic mix of bigotry and absurdly easy access to firearms means that such events are all too common and LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC communities, the Jewish community and other vulnerable populations pay the price again and again for our political leadership’s failure to act,” he said in a statement. “We must stand together to demand meaningful action before yet another tragedy strikes our nation.”The shooting came during Transgender Awareness Week and hours before Sunday’s International Transgender Day of Remembrance, when events around the world are held to mourn and remember transgender people lost to violence. The Colorado Springs shooting was sure to bring special resonance to those events.Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website. In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” preceding a birthday dance party, with a Sunday “all ages brunch.”Colorado Springs is a city of about 480,000 located about 70 miles south of Denver that is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical Christian ministry.In November 2015, three people were killed and eight wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city when authorities say a man opened fire because he wanted to wage “war” on the clinic because it performed abortions. In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event. Experts warned that extremist groups could see anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action.The previous month, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise congregation that gay, lesbian and transgender people should be executed by the government, which lined up with similar sermons from a Texas fundamentalist pastor.There have been 523 mass killings since 2006 resulting in 2,727 deaths as of Nov. 19, according to The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S.

A 22-year-old gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 18 before he was subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who were on the scene within minutes, authorities said Sunday.

Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at Club Q after the Saturday night shooting, said Police Chief Adrian Vasquez.

Investigators were still determining a motive, and the attack was being investigated to see if it should be prosecuted as a hate crime, said El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen.

Police identified the gunman as Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was in custody and being treated for injuries. A man with the same name and age was arrested in 2021 after his mother reported he threatened her with “a homemade bomb, multiple weapons and ammunition,” according to authorities.

Video below: Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez press conference

Police did not confirm whether it was the same person, saying they were investigating whether the suspect had been arrested before.

Authorities were called to the Club Q at 11:57 p.m. Saturday with a report of a shooting, and the first officer arrived at midnight.

“At least two heroic people” confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, Vasquez said, adding: “We owe them a great debt of thanks.”

Of the 18 people injured, some were in critical condition and at least two had been treated and released, officials said, adding that some were hurt trying to flee.

The shooting brought back memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. And it occurred in a state that has experienced several notorious mass killings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012 and at a Boulder supermarket last year.

A police officer exits his car near a crime scene at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 where a shooting occurred late Saturday night. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)

It was the sixth mass killing this month and came in a year when the nation was shaken by the deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. The FBI said it was assisting but said the police department was leading the investigation.

President Joe Biden said that while the motive for the shootings was not yet clear, “we know that the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years.”

“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often,” he said. “We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor in 2018, said the news was “sickening.”.

“My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured, and traumatized in this horrific shooting. I have spoken with Mayor (John) Suthers and clarified that every state resource is available to local law enforcement in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn.”

Flowers and a sign reading "love over hate" lay near a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 where a shooting occurred late Saturday night. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)

Ryan Johnson, who lives near Club Q and was there last month, said it was one of only two night spots for the LGBTQ community in conservative-leaning Colorado Springs. “It’s kind of the go-to for pride,” the 26-year-old said, describing it as a medium-sized club.

When he got home early Sunday, he saw police cars crowding the streets.

“It just feels crazy, you hear about it and you don’t think it’ll happen and then it happens,” said Johnson. “You come to Colorado and feel safer than other parts of the country and then this happens.”

Video below: Scene after shooting at Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub

Robert Nichols, 35, said he searched frantically Sunday for a friend who had told him she would be at the club and hadn't returned his calls. He said that led to some “anxiety inducing” hours before seeing the friend's car outside her home and deciding she was OK.

Although a motive wasn’t yet clear, nor were the gender identities of the victims, the incident came as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has intensified by extremists. In a statement, Club Q termed the shooting a hate attack.

“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. It said its prayers were with victims and families, adding: “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”

The CEO of a national LGBTQ-rights organization, Kevin Jennings of Lambda Legal, reacted with a plea for tighter restrictions on guns.

“America’s toxic mix of bigotry and absurdly easy access to firearms means that such events are all too common and LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC communities, the Jewish community and other vulnerable populations pay the price again and again for our political leadership’s failure to act,” he said in a statement. “We must stand together to demand meaningful action before yet another tragedy strikes our nation.”

The shooting came during Transgender Awareness Week and hours before Sunday’s International Transgender Day of Remembrance, when events around the world are held to mourn and remember transgender people lost to violence. The Colorado Springs shooting was sure to bring special resonance to those events.

Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website. In addition to the drag show, Club Q's Facebook page said planned entertainment included a “punk and alternative show” preceding a birthday dance party, with a Sunday “all ages brunch.”

Crime tape is set up near a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 where a shooting occurred late Saturday night. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Colorado Springs is a city of about 480,000 located about 70 miles south of Denver that is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical Christian ministry.

In November 2015, three people were killed and eight wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city when authorities say a man opened fire because he wanted to wage “war” on the clinic because it performed abortions.

In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiracy to riot at a Pride event. Experts warned that extremist groups could see anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action.

The previous month, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise congregation that gay, lesbian and transgender people should be executed by the government, which lined up with similar sermons from a Texas fundamentalist pastor.

There have been 523 mass killings since 2006 resulting in 2,727 deaths as of Nov. 19, according to The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S.


Source link

Show More

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button

Notice: ob_end_flush(): Failed to send buffer of zlib output compression (0) in /www/data/home2/proffx/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5427