Police praise heroes who fought with gunman as five killed in shooting spree
Police have praised two “heroic” patrons who fought with a gunman and managed to stop his killing spree on the dance floor of a Colorado nightclub in the US.
Five people were killed and 18 others injured as the shooter bearing a rifle targeted the LGBTQ venue in Colorado Springs about midnight, while patrons were dancing.
Police chief Adrian Vasquez praised two club-goers who confronted the shooter and stopped more lives being lost.
“Initial evidence and interviews indicate that the suspect entered Club Q and immediately began shooting at people inside as he moved further into the club,” he said.
“While the suspect was inside of the club, at least two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the suspect and were able to stop the suspect from continuing to kill and harm others.
“We owe them a great debt of thanks.”
The police chief said two firearms were found at the scene, adding the suspect used a long rifle during the rampage.
One witness, Joshua Thurman, 34, told The Colorado Sun people initially kept dancing as they thought the ‘pop, pop, pop, pop’ noise was part of the music at Club Q.
Mr Thurman ran to a dressing room and took shelter with two others as people were killed and wounded.
“I didn’t see much. We were laying on the ground in the dressing room and the police were yelling at the assailant. I don’t know how they got him on the ground,” Mr Thurman told the newspaper.
“When I came out of the dressing room, the police didn’t even know we were in there. … At that point, I lost my cool because when I came out there were bodies on the floor, shattered glass, broken cups, people crying,” he said.
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“There was nothing keeping that man from coming in to kill us,” he said.
“Why did this have to happen? Why? Why did people have to lose their lives?”
Police identified the suspect as Anderson Lee Aldrich, a 22-year-old man, who was taken into custody minutes after the shooting broke out and was being treated for injuries.
Club Q, which describes itself as an adult-oriented gay and lesbian nightclub, called Saturday night’s events a “hate attack” in a statement on its Facebook page.
Authorities said they were investigating whether the attack was a hate crime.
The gunman entered Club Q in Colorado Springs. Photo: Getty
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the nation’s first openly gay governor, commended the “brave individuals who blocked the gunman” in a statement released on Twitter.
He said the shooting was “horrific, sickening, and devastating”.
Police said the initial phone call came just before midnight and that the suspect was apprehended within minutes.
Images of the scene after the shooting showed security and emergency vehicles with flashing blinkers parked on a street near the venue.
Jessy Smith Cruz and Jadzia Dax McClendon the morning after the mass shooting. Photo: Getty
By 4am, police had taped off the area around the club, which is in a strip mall on the outskirts of Colorado Springs.
In 2016, a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, before he was shot dead by police.
At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in recent US history until a shooter killed 60 people at a music festival in Las Vegas in 2017.
-with AAP
