(Trends Wide) — Grief over the deaths of five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub has raised growing questions about whether the weekend massacre could have been prevented.

At least 19 other people were injured Saturday night at Club Q, a former safe haven for the LGBTQ community and now another crime scene in a country that has seen an average of two mass shootings every day this year.

Authorities have revealed more about the suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who faces preliminary charges of five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of a hate crime, known elsewhere as a hate crime, causing bodily injury. bodily.

Authorities have not formally charged Aldrich, who was hospitalized after being subdued by two “heroic” people at the club who police say prevented an even greater tragedy.

The suspect was transferred to jail, in the custody of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Springs police said Tuesday. Aldrich was also listed online for the county jail.

Asked by Trends Wide on Tuesday if the suspect was cooperating with authorities, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez told Trends Wide, “We haven’t received any information from him.”

It is not yet clear if Aldrich has an attorney.

According to the researchers:

• Aldrich was previously charged with felony menacing and first-degree kidnapping after allegedly making a bomb threat last year. But those charges were later dropped and the records were sealed. It is not clear why the records were sealed.
• The suspect brought an AR-style weapon and a pistol to Club Q on Saturday night, but primarily used the assault-style rifle to carry out the massacre, Vasquez said.
• While Colorado has a red flag law meant to temporarily remove gun access for those deemed a danger to themselves or others, it may not have applied to Aldrich if his 2021 case had never been adjudicated. or if no one had sought the intervention.

Suspect will be formally charged ‘sometime next week’, prosecutor says

The suspect will have his first court appearance next Wednesday, which will include “advising the arrest charges, as well as advising the bail conditions,” Colorado’s Fourth District Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen said. .

The suspect will be held without bail, Allen told Trends Wide’s Erin Burnett.

The formal filing of charges “will probably be sometime next week or, depending on court hours, the following week,” Allen said, adding that he expects charges in “about 10 days.”

And while the murder charges will offer the longest sentencing options, Allen said he expects more charges beyond those.

“Colorado has hate crime statutes, which most people understand as hate crimes. We are definitely looking into that, based on the facts involved in this case,” Allen said. “And if there is evidence to charge him, we will also charge him.”

Analyst: Mass shootings have increased since assault rifle ban was lifted

The United States had an assault-style weapons ban that was implemented in 1994 and expired in 2004.

That ban, while not perfect, “had the effect of limiting the number of high-capacity semi-automatic weapons … that were in circulation,” said Andrew McCabe, a Trends Wide law enforcement analyst.

“We saw a huge decrease in mass shootings and deaths during that time,” said McCabe, a former FBI deputy director. “This isn’t even really debatable.”

Questions arise as to why previous charges were dropped

It is unclear why the felony charges against Aldrich were dropped following the 2021 report of a bomb threat.

Video obtained by Trends Wide showed Aldrich apparently railing against police and daring them to break into his mother’s house, where he was hiding.

“Got the f*cking sh*^^ out, look at that, they’ve got me in their sights,” Aldrich says in the video, pointing the camera at a window with blinds covering it. “See right there? The f***** idiots drew their rifles.”

Later in the video, Aldrich says, “If they break through, I’m going to send them all to hell.”

The video ends with what appears to be a message to law enforcement outside: “So go ahead and get in guys! Let’s see it!”.

The video doesn’t actually show any officers outside the home, and it’s not clear if Aldrich had any weapons in the home.

Several hours after the initial police call, the local sheriff’s department’s crisis negotiations unit managed to get Aldrich out of the house. Authorities found no explosives at the home, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said.

Alrich was arrested and booked into the El Paso County Jail on two counts of felony menacing and three counts of first-degree kidnapping, according to a 2021 news release from the sheriff’s office.

It was not immediately clear how the bomb threat case was resolved, but the Colorado Springs Gazette reported that the district attorney’s office said no formal charges were filed in the case. The district attorney’s office did not respond to Trends Wide’s request for comment.

Aldrich purchased the two guns brought into Club Q on Saturday night, law enforcement sources told Trends Wide this week. But it’s unclear if the AR-style rifle and pistol were purchased before or after the 2021 case.

Aldrich’s arrest in connection with the bomb threat would not have shown up on background checks because the case was never adjudicated, the charges were dropped and the records were sealed. It is not clear what prompted the sealing of the records.

A red flag law ‘was not perfect in this circumstance’

In 2019, Colorado passed a controversial Red Flag Law that allows family members, a roommate or police to ask a judge to temporarily confiscate a person’s firearms if they are considered a risk.

When asked Monday why the Red Flag law was not used in Aldrich’s case, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said it was “too early” to say.

“I don’t have enough information to know exactly what the agents knew,” Weiser said.

One caveat with Colorado’s red flag law is that it requires family members, law enforcement, or others to actively begin the process of trying to temporarily remove gun access from someone who might cause harm.

“Colorado’s red flag law works when a family member or cohabitant or police officer proactively presents the required documentation and goes before a judge and makes the argument that someone should not have access to a gun. McCabe said.

“It is not clear to me from this situation if (the suspect) was placed under a temporary restraining order or some type of mental health evaluation. Even if it were, it is not clear that there is a requirement for red flag consideration when there is a TRO or mental health evaluation. He is completely voluntary,” he added.

Sen. John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado, said he believes there are flaws in the red flag law.

“Obviously, the implementation was not perfect in this circumstance,” Hickenlooper said Tuesday. “Much less than perfect. It was a failure by any measure.”

5 More Victims Join Hundreds of Other Mass Shooting Victims This Year

Authorities identified the murder victims as Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Derrick Rump.

So far this year, the US has recorded at least 605 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which like Trends Wide records incidents in which four or more people are killed or injured, excluding the shooter.

Barrett Hudson survived the massacre despite being shot seven times as he tried to run away from the gunfire.

“Seven bullets missed my spine, my liver, my colon,” Hudson told Trends Wide. “I was very, very lucky.”

But Hudson and other surviving victims are clouded with grief for the five lives lost.

Ashley Paugh leaves behind her daughter Ryleigh, who “was her whole world,” Paugh’s family said in a statement.

“She meant everything to this family, and we can’t even begin to understand what it will mean to not have her in our lives,” her family said.

Paugh worked at the nonprofit Kids Crossing, which aims to help foster children find homes, the family said. She was also involved in helping the LGBTQ community find welcoming places of shelter.

Derrick Rump was a bartender at Club Q. The venue was a place where he “found a community of people that he loved very much, and he felt like he could shine there, and he did,” his sister Julia Kissling, a Trends Wide affiliate WFMZ.

Kelly Loving’s sister offered her condolences to the other bereaved families as she dealt with her own grief.

“My condolences go out to all the families who lost someone in this tragic event, and to all who are struggling to be accepted in this world,” Tiffany Loving said in the statement to Trends Wide.

“My sister was a good person. She was loving, caring and sweet. They all loved her. Kelly was a wonderful person.”

Raymond Green Vance, 22, had just landed a job at a FedEx distribution center in Colorado Springs and “was thrilled to have received his first paycheck,” his family said in a statement.

“His own family and friends are completely devastated by the sudden loss of a son, grandson, brother, nephew and cousin loved by so many,” his family said.

An army veteran used the attacker’s gun to stop him.

The carnage could have been even worse if it weren’t for the bravery of two people inside the club who fought the gunman, police said.

Richard Fierro and Thomas James subdued the shooter before officers arrived minutes after the shooting began, police said.

Fierro, a former Army major who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he took a gun from the gunman and used it to beat him.

The violence and trauma at the club on Saturday night was similar to that of a war zone, the veteran said.

Fierro was at the disco celebrating a birthday with his wife and daughter. His daughter’s boyfriend, Vance, was also there but did not survive.

He got emotional talking about Vance and the others who were killed.

“I’m not a hero,” Fierro said. “I’m just a guy who wanted to protect his kids and his wife, and I still couldn’t protect her boyfriend.”

— Patricia DiCarlo, Ji Min Lee, Dakin Andone, Amir Vera, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Caroll Alvarado, Amanda Musa, Amanda Watts, Elise Hammond, Sara Weisfeldt, David Williams, Raja Razek and Trends Wide’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.