Gunman Kills Five at Gay Nightclub, Overwhelmed by Patrons

Colorado Springs, Colorado. A 22-year-old gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five and injuring 18, before being subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who arrived on the scene within about five minutes. rice field. .

Two firearms, including a “long rifle,” were found at the Club Q scene, according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vazquez.

“At least two brave men” confronted the shooter and stopped the shooting, he said, adding, “I owe them a great deal of gratitude.”

Authorities received a report of a shooting at Club Q at 11:57 p.m. Saturday, said Lieutenant Pamela Castro of the Colorado Springs Police Department.

The riots are the sixth mass murder this month, coming in a year that rocked the country after 21 people were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Castro said the suspect was injured but didn’t know how and the FBI was at the scene.

Justice Department spokesman Anthony Corey said Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the shooting. He said he was leading an investigation.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who in 2018 became the first openly gay American to be openly gay, said he was “disgusted” by the news.

“My heart is broken for the family and friends of those lost, wounded and traumatized in this horrific shooting. “We have made it clear that enforcement agencies have access to all state resources,” Police said. “The State of Colorado mourns the LGTBQ community and everyone affected by this tragedy.”

The motive for the shooting was not yet clear, nor was the gender identity of the victim, but the incident came at a time when anti-gay rhetoric by militants intensified. called the shooting a hate attack.

“Club Q is devastated by this senseless attack on our community,” the club posted on its Facebook page. We appreciate the heroic customer’s swift response that put an end to the attack.”

The shooting occurred hours before Transgender Awareness Week and International Transgender Day on Sunday. On this day, events are held around the world to mourn and commemorate transgender people lost to violence. The shooting in Colorado Springs was sure to give Sunday’s events a special resonance.

Club Q is a gay and lesbian nightclub that hosts a “Drag Divas Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website.

In addition to the drag show, planned entertainment will include a “punk and alternative show” before a birthday dance party and an “all-ages brunch” on Sunday, according to Club Q’s Facebook page. will be

Colorado Springs, a city of approximately 480,000 people located about 70 miles (112 km) south of Denver, is the home of the United States Air Force Academy and a prominent evangelical Christian ministry, Focus on the Family. ” is also available.

In November 2015, three people died and eight were killed when authorities said they shot a man at the city’s Planned Parenthood clinic because he wanted to “wage war” for performing an abortion. injured.

The shooting evoked memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where 49 people died. It also happened in a state that has seen many notorious massacres, including Columbine High School in 1999, a movie theater outside Denver in 2012, and a supermarket in Boulder last year.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California said on Twitter that the shooting was “disgusting and appalling”, adding: And devastating attacks like this will only become more common if we don’t fight back. ”

Illinois’ first openly gay Congressman, Eric Sorensen, tweeted: Our country must reject the hateful rhetoric aimed at the LGBTQ community. ”

In June, 31 members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiring to riot at a pride event.Experts warned extremist groups could be seen Anti-gay rhetoric as a call to action.

The month before, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise congregation that gay, lesbian and transgender people should be executed by the government. The government is juxtaposed with similar sermons from a fundamentalist pastor in Texas.

There have been 523 mass murders since 2006, with 2,727 dead as of November 19, according to the government. Associated Press/USA Today Database on Mass Murder in the United States