The courageous intervention of two guests in the shooting at a Colorado nightclub probably prevented worse: Richard Fierro and Thomas James would have saved many lives, says local mayor Suthers. Fierro says he “just went into battle mode”.
After the attack on patrons at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub, authorities have hailed two “heroic” patrons for intervening in the shooter. “I have never met a person who acted so heroically and with such humility,” said local Mayor John Suthers of one of the two guests. The man named Richard Fierro just said to him, “I was trying to protect my family.”
A 22-year-old man armed with a gun entered Club Q late on Saturday evening and shot people celebrating there. At least five people died and 18 others were injured, police said. Some of the injured were in mortal danger, the police said on Sunday (local time). The motive of the perpetrator is initially unclear. US President Joe Biden condemned the act and denounced violence against homosexuals and transgender people.
Eyewitnesses described how the perpetrator immediately started shooting before some guests intervened. They punched and kicked him and prevented him from “doing any more damage,” bartender Michael Anderson said. “You saved my life.”
During a press conference, authorities confirmed the identities of the two guests who stopped the perpetrator: Richard Fierro and Thomas James. The two saved many lives, Mayor Suthers said.
According to a report by the New York Times, Fierro is a former US soldier. Fierro told the newspaper he was at the club with his wife, daughter and friends watching a drag queen show when the gunman opened fire. He grabbed the shooter from behind, took the gun from him and repeatedly hit him in the head.
“I don’t know exactly what I did, I just went into fight mode,” Fierro said. “I just know I have to kill this guy before he kills us.”
Joshua Thurman, a frequent visitor from Colorado Springs, was still in shock hours after the incident. “It was scary,” he told reporters. “There were dead bodies on the ground. There were broken glass, broken mugs, people crying.” The club was a “protected place” for him, Thurman said. “Where should we go now?”
It was initially unclear whether it was a hate crime against homosexuals or transsexuals. Authorities on Sunday had not yet formally classified the attack as a hate crime, but said the 22-year-old perpetrator could face murder charges in any case. The FBI got involved in the investigation. According to the district attorney, the man is currently hospitalized and will appear in court for the first time in the coming days.
Investigators identified the suspected shooter as Anderson Lee Aldrich. A 21-year-old man of the same name was arrested on June 18 last year, according to a press release from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at the time. Accordingly, his mother had stated that he had threatened to injure her with a homemade bomb or “several weapons”.
It was initially unclear how many people were in the small club in Colorado Springs at the time of the attack. Its operators were shocked on Facebook by the “senseless attack on our community”. The club had previously announced a celebration to commemorate the “victims of transphobia” – November 20 is celebrated worldwide as “Transgender Day of Remembrance”. The English abbreviation LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.