HATEFUL ATTACK

Cops Say Alleged Colorado Springs Killer Bought Rifle and Handgun Himself

A motive for the shooting at the LGBTQ club hasn’t been released, but Anderson Lee Aldrich has been charged with bias-motivated crimes.

The man accused of gunning down five people at a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs purchased two guns brought to the attack, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources. Anderson Lee Aldrich was armed with an AR-style rifle and a handgun, the sources said, which were used to turn a Sunday night drag show at Club Q into a horror scene. Aldrich was subdued by patrons and taken into custody. Authorities have not disclosed a motive but the rampage is being investigated as a “potential” hate crime, and Aldrich has been charged with five counts of bias-motivated crimes causing bodily injury, among other charges. Aldrich was arrested in 2021 for threatening his mom with a homemade bomb, which forced an entire neighborhood to evacuate. Charges were later dropped and the case remains sealed. CNN’s sources did not indicate when Aldrich made his purchase, but said the sealed status of records regarding the 2021 arrest would keep the incident off background checks used to purchase guns in Colorado.