Anderson Lee Aldrich pleads guilty to 53 charges for killing five in Club Q shooting

Anderson Lee Aldrich, the suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBT+ nightclub that left five dead and 17 wounded, has pleaded guilty to 53 charges, including five for first degree murder.

Aldrich’s guilty plea means the victims’ families will not be subjected to a months-long trial forcing them to relive the day of the attack.

Aldrich orginally faced 305 criminal counts, including hate crimes and murder.

The guilty plea included five first-degree murder charges, 46 charges of attempted first-degree murder, and two bias-motivated crimes.

The shooter, who says they are non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, reportedly spoke with Associated Press reporters ahead of the hearing, expressed remorse for the deadly shooting at Colorado Springs’ Club Q and claimed they would accept a plea deal from the prosecution.

Family members of the victims told news outlets that they had been information by the prosecution that Aldrich would take a plea deal, and that the prosecution would seek a life sentence.

Had the trial continued, family members of the victims would likely have been subject to surveillance footage that captured the shooting, including the possible final moments of their loved ones.

After the plea, family members of the victims provided tearful victim impact statements, with Aldrich looking on from mere feet away.

One of the victims who took the mic was Ashtin Gamblin, who Aldrich shot nine times as she greeted guests at the front door of Club Q.

Ms Gamblin recalled having a conversation with Aldrich, and that she “was still bombarded with gunshots nearly an hour later.”

“When I stared him in the face, shots were going off. I nestled in my friend’s body, soaking in his blood … when the music stopped, I could hear screams in full force.”

She called the plea deal “weakness” and said that “hate deserves every f****** ounce of torture and then some”.

Richard Fierro, an Army veteran who helped stop Aldrich’s attack, called him a “terrorist” and said he hopes “the words I yelled into the back of your head echo for the rest of your life”.

“I want him to know his evil was stopped by a person of colour, by LGBTQ folks, by a trans woman, by actual combat veterans, real heroes,” Mr Fierro said.

Mr Fierro’s daughter was dating Raymond Green Vance, who was killed in the shooting.

Judge Michael McHenry ruled in May that the footage could not be made public before Aldrich’s trial. Both the prosecution and the defence agreed with the judge’s ruling, stating that the videos release could complicate jury selection and demean the relatives and the memory of the victims.

The public defenders representing Aldrich said in a motion on 2 March that “those individuals deserve the respect of not having the last moments or the most traumatic moments of their lives broadcast and downloadable from a State of Colorado web site”.

They added that the video would be difficult to redact as printed documents may be. They said the footage shows “moments of death and severe injury to several people”.

Authorities have said that on 19 November 2022, Aldrich went to Club Q before leaving, only to return later.

Surveillance footage from the attack shows Aldrich entering the venue wearing a ballistic vest over a red t-shirt. Aldrich used an AR-style rifle, and had six magazines and a pistol, Detective Jason Gasper said during a February preliminary hearing.

Investigators said Aldrich began firing not long after entering the nightclub.

Detective Ashton Gardner testified that the shooting ended when Navy information systems technician Thomas James grabbed the hot barrel of the rifle, burning his hand.

The shooting sparked panic in the club, and clubgoers fled the scene with Mr James and Aldrich falling off a landing as they fought over a handgun. Aldrich shot Mr James in the ribs, according to Mr Gardner.

Despite being wounded, the footage shows a tiring Mr James as he “continues to do what he can to subdue the suspect until police arrive,” Mr Gardner said, adding that Mr James subsequently gave his ambulance spot to another wounded person.

As Aldrich and Mr James struggled, Army veteran Richard Fierro rushed to them, grabbing the rifle and throwing it, according to Mr Gardner.

Mr Fierro grabbed the handgun and used it to strike Aldrich repeatedly until the arrival of officers.

Witnesses have said that Aldrich visited Club Q at least six times in the years leading up to the attack.

In the mostly conservative city of Colorado Springs, Club Q has long served as a safe haven for members of the LGBT+ community.