The suspected gunman accused of killing five people in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last month has been formally charged with 305 counts, including charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault and bias-motivated crimes causing bodily injury.
Aldrich – whose attorneys say identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns – faces up to life in prison without parole if convicted on the first-degree murder charges, Allen said in a news conference after Tuesday’s hearing.
“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 serious as we possibly can,” Allen told reporters, “meaning that we are going to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”
The suspect allegedly entered Club Q late November 19 with an AR-style weapon and a handgun and opened fire, killing Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Derrick Rump. At least 19 others were injured, police have said, most of whom suffered gunshot wounds.
The attack was halted by two patrons who took down and contained the suspect until police arrived at the club, which was seen as a safe space for the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs.
“We’re not going to tolerate actions against community members based on their sexual identity, those kinds of things,” Allen said of the charges of bias-motivated crime – elsewhere called a hate crime. “Members of that community have been harassed, intimidated and abused for too long. That’s not going to occur in the Fourth Judicial District.”
.Aldrich has been held up until now on preliminary charges, including five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, per the El Paso County Court’s online docket. In a hearing on November 23, a judge ordered Aldrich to be held without bond.
The public defender’s office, which is representing Aldrich, has previously declined all requests for comment, citing office policy.
Ahead of an earlier hearing, Aldrich’s attorneys said the suspect identified as nonbinary and would be addressed as Mx. Aldrich – a distinction that Allen said would have “no impact” on his office’s prosecution of the case.
A neighbor of the accused shooter who said he sometimes played video games with Aldrich told CNN the suspect never mentioned they were nonbinary.
Aldrich is next due in court on February 22 for a preliminary hearing. After that, Aldrich would be expected to be arraigned, Allen said.
Matthew Haynes, one of the Club Q owners, praised the announcement of the formal charges in a statement shared by the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD, saying it “cements what we already knew: this was a targeted hate crime.”
“The tragedy at Club Q shows that words matter and that words have real-world consequences,” Haynes said. “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. And we urge everyone to do what they can to speak up for LGBTQ people and everyone’s right to be safe.”
