(JAKARTA, Indonesia) — A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Java island in Indonesia on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
At least 268 people have died as of about 5:30 p.m. local time, according to the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency who was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.
So far, a total of 1,083 people have been injured with 151 people still missing or unaccounted for, officials said in Tuesday’s press conference. More than 58,000 people have been displaced with the numbers still expected to rise.
Indonesia’s Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency said on Twitter that it had also measured the quake at a magnitude of 5.6. Preliminary data from the USGS had previously placed the quake at a magnitude of 5.4.
The quake struck at a depth of about 10 km, with an epicenter about 18 km southwest of Ciranjang-hilir, Indonesia, USGS said.
Indonesia’s President, Joko Widodo, went to the site of the quake and expressed his condolences.
“On behalf of myself, on behalf of the government, I would like to express my deep condolences, condolences, for the earthquake in Cianjur Regency, West Java Province,” Widodo said in his remarks. “And most importantly, I am happy that the access road that was buried yesterday has been able to be opened until this morning, thank God, and this will be continued with speed in handling, especially rescue and evacuation for those who are still buried.”
(NEW YORK) — As investigators continue to gather clues about Saturday night’s shooting in a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub that has left 5 people dead and 25 people injured as of Monday afternoon, LGBTQ rights groups have said that there is an increased state of fear and panic.
Sarah Kate Ellis, the CEO and president of GLAAD, joined GMA3 Monday to talk about the fear and aggravation felt in the community and had some strong words for people and groups that have recently increased their anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
GMA3: Authorities are going to investigate this, look into whether or not this was a hate crime. But what is your reaction to what we are seeing now in Colorado Springs over the weekend?
SARAH KATE ELLIS: Sure. Motive aside, I think what we’re seeing is a 12-year high in hate crimes, [a] 41% increase against the trans community alone. And I think that we’re seeing three things drive this. One are anti-LGBTQ politicians who have proposed over 300 anti-LGBTQ policies this year or bills this year for no good reason, answering and solving no problem that exists.
Secondly, we’re seeing social media platforms amplify hate. It’s actually part of the business model is that the more viral the hate, the deeper the hate, the worse the more viral it is. So they make money off of it. So they have the tools to stop it, the lies, the misinformation, but they don’t use them.
And then thirdly…is the inaction by government on gun safety reform. Where are we on that and on social media platform accountability? So those three things have driven an environment that makes the LGBTQ community completely unsafe. Even here in New York City on Saturday night, a brick was thrown through the window of an LGBTQ bar in Hell’s Kitchen, the fourth time in one week. We at GLAAD have recorded over 100 either violent or violent threats to drag queen events through this year. So it’s real, it’s happening. And it results in what we saw on Saturday night.
GMA3: Yeah, I know you get chills just hearing you talk about not just the rhetoric, not just the legislation that’s being proposed, but the actual actions that are being taken against this community. What needs to be done? What would you like to see happen?
ELLIS: I need politicians to stop. Just stop using the LGBTQ community as their political football. Stop creating and spreading lies about our community. Stop. Just stop. [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis, [Colorado Rep.] Lauren Boebert, stop it.
Secondly, I need social media companies, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube to step up and stop profiting off of this hate and this misinformation.
And thirdly, we need government to speak up and speak out and take action. That’s what we need. And it’s not a secret formula. It’s all here. We have all the resources at GLAAD.org to stop this culture of hate and misinformation and disinformation. I would like to say also that as GLAAD we’re on the ground in Colorado Springs, we’re helping Club Q, a very small community in Colorado Springs that’s LGBTQ. So we’re there helping them get through this right now.
There is a fund called the Colorado Healing Fund. A lot of people are asking how they can help right now, and that’s one way that goes directly to the victims. It’s been vetted and it’s a fund that has been used in the past and in these mass shootings.
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — Within hours of the mass shooting in Colorado Springs that left five people dead and at least 19 injured, support services have been set up for the victims, their families and the LGBTQ community at large.
Members of the Colorado Springs community have mobilized, launching fundraisers to help cover medical and funeral expenses and sharing locations of where blood can be donated.
Additionally, mental health services are being offered to anyone affected by the attack at Club Q, a nightclub that primarily serves LGBTQ patrons.
Here are some ways to support the effort and resources for those in need:
Monetary donations
Several groups have set up fundraisers, where people can donate to help cover medical and funeral costs as well as to provide help to families in the aftermath.
Club Q shared a link on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon to an official donation site run by Colorado Gives 365.
Colorado Gives 365 is run by the Colorado Healing Fund, a non-profit that sets up donations for those who are the victims of mass casualties in the state as well as their families, which was activated in the wake of the shooting.
Additionally, the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe has verified at least four fundraisers.
Blood donations
Vitalant, a nonprofit organization that collects blood donations, shared on Facebook that it sent out 70 units of blood products to hospitals in the area.
“Our hearts go out to the victims of the Club Q shooting and their loved ones,” Vitalant said in a statement. “We stand ready to provide additional blood products if requested.”
The group said donors who want to make appointments in the coming days can do so online or by calling 1-877-25-VITAL (84825).
Additionally, people can donate at blood donation centers at Children’s Hospital Colorado at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora or at UC Health Garth Englund Blood Center in Fort Collins, which helps support patients in northern Colorado.
Mental health services
The city of Colorado Springs announced on its website that the Colorado Springs Police Department will be holding a Community Resource Expo on Monday, November 21; Tuesday, November 22; and Wednesday, November 23 from 8:00 a.m. MT to 7:00 p.m. MT.
“The expo will provide mental health resources, spiritual support, emotional support animals, childcare, emergency financial resources, LGBTQ+ support, meals, and other services,” the site reads.
Additionally, the city has a rolling list of providers offering therapy to those impacted by the shooting, including some offering free sessions. As of Monday morning, 102 providers were listed.
Club Q shared on Facebook that a drop-in center is being set up at the Satellite Hotel in Colorado Springs.
“GLAAD and One Colorado will be on site all week to provide counseling services or if you just need to be with family or just need a hug,” the post read.
UC Health recommends if someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they can call 911; 988, a new nationwide number specifically for those suffering from suicidal thoughts; or The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and mental health support group for LGBTQ youth.
(NEW YORK) — Sam Olbekson was first exposed to architecture at age five, when his uncle was a construction worker on a project to build the Minneapolis American Indian Center.
Decades later, Olbekson, 51, now runs his own architecture firm, Full Circle Indigenous Planning. He’s also MAIC’s board president, designing an addition to the building which will begin construction next month.
A citizen of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe in Minnesota, Olbekson split his childhood between the area’s reservations and urban Native American populations, observing and experiencing their impoverished living conditions. Inspired by his childhood interest in art, math, and social justice, he went onto study architecture in college and later earned a graduate degree in urban design.
“I can come back now to tribal communities and do that large scale master planning,” he said. “Architecture is about an individual building. But designing the entire community was a goal of mine.”
Olbekson currently works with Native clients across the country on projects ranging from schools to clinics, centering Indigenous cultural values and perspectives on environmental sustainability.
After Native Americans were forcibly displaced from, even killed on their land, then relegated to scattered reservations, Olbekson said architecture today can reinforce tribes’ legal sovereignty over their land as well as their “cultural sovereignty,” both reflecting their traditions and envisioning their future.
“It’s about what the next seven generations will need to thrive as contemporary Native American nations.” he said. “Shaping your built environment is so important to any community because our environment shapes us.”
Designing buildings that build community
In the past, Olbekson said many non-Native architects have assumed the role of “outside experts” designing for, not with, tribal communities, failing to meet their unique cultural needs as a result.
Instead, Olbekson said his approach maintains his clients’ authorship over their projects, engaging tribes’ political and cultural leaders, as well as local artists and builders.
“I always start off by not drawing, but just simply asking, ‘What is the meaning of this place? Who are you as a people?'” he said.
For example, Olbekson said the Minneapolis American Indian Center, which houses an art gallery, was originally designed in a brutalist style with sharp angles.
“But those angular spaces don’t really work for gathering,” which Olbekson noted is key to many Native cultures.
He observed the building was also very “introverted,” lacking a “clear sense of entry” connecting it to the broader neighborhood.
“Tribal communities usually have a welcoming song, and there’s a ceremony about that. So how can a building have this sense of ceremonial welcoming?” he said.
Their solution, Olbekson said, was to create an open floor plan, making the building “one space” rather than multiple siloed rooms. The redesign also features large windows and a round, central gathering space that flows into other areas, including a café serving Indigenous food.
When designing Mino-bimaadiziwin Apartments, an affordable housing project for the Red Lake Nation in Minneapolis, Olbekson said he similarly contemplated how a six-story 110-unit building could express the community’s cultural values.
“How do you design streets that create connections rather than cul de sacs that create divisions?” he said. “How do you create a neighborhood?”
To start, they ensured the apartments included larger units to accommodate Indigenous family structures where, often, six to eight people live in the same intergenerational household.
But beyond apartments, the building also houses other facilities, including the Red Lake Nation Embassy, a wellness clinic, basketball court, community kitchen, daycare, garden with medicinal plants and a room where residents can take online classes at the tribal college.
Such multi-service hubs are essential to Native communities, who disproportionately lack access to stable housing and safe, reliable transportation, Olbekson said.
He noted they also reflect Indigenous views on the inextricability of shelter, food, recreation, healthcare, education and their holistic necessity for a community’s overall growth and well-being.
At the groundbreaking for Mino-Bimaadiziwin, which means “live the good life” in Ojibwe, Red Lake Tribal Chairman Darrell Seki told the crowd: “This building is for you. For you to take care of your families, your children, the next generation.”
Part of a system
Sustainable, regenerative design is also paramount to many tribes who’ve traditionally built their structures from materials in their environments, tying to their creation stories, Olbekson said.
“Each culture has a different way of thinking about the land, but the commonalities are that everything is related, that we exist with the land, not on the land,” he said. “We’re part of a system.”
Accordingly, Olbekson said they built Mino-bimaadiziwin Apartments using the Red Lake Nation’s local cedar timber, signifying their reservation’s location in the Northwest Minnesota woods, and incorporated motifs from nature into the building’s interior aesthetic — for example, fractal patterns and cool tones representing the tribe’s Turtle Clan.
But respecting the land and topography also means knowing where not to build, Olbekson said.
While designing several projects along a confluence of rivers called Bdote, Olbekson said they deliberately located the Wakan Tipi Center at a distance from its namesake and Dakota sacred site Wakan Tipi Cave to honor its sanctity.
In traditional times, sacred sites were all connected around this river landscape, he said, but “in modern times, they’re separated by highways and bridges, different arbitrary city borders.”
Olbekson said by “decolonizing the process” and removing those borders, the project could place jurisdictional authority and cultural direction into the hands of the Dakota people, the land’s original stewards.
Ideally, Olbekson said every tribal nation would have an architect from their own community. But the American Institute of Architects reported that less than 0.44% of their members were Indigenous in 2021.
To increase the ranks of Native architects and awareness of the profession, Olbekson, an American Indian Council of Architects and Engineers board member, said he always offers to speak with students at schools in tribal communities whenever he works on a project.
“Then they can see someone that looks like them, that has their history, maybe the challenges they’re experiencing right now and see that it’s possible, this is a thing that is reachable for them,” he said.
“As designers, we shape our schools,” he added. “But those schools, in turn, shape our future generations. Our buildings are shaping future cultural leaders.”
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — A 22-year-old is set to be charged with hate crimes for allegedly killing five people and injuring many others with a legally purchased assault-style rifle at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado, according to officials briefed on the investigation.
The suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, allegedly began shooting as soon as he walked into Club Q in Colorado Springs late Saturday night, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said.
At least two people, whom authorities described as heroes, then confronted Aldrich and fought with him, which saved more lives, police said.
During a press conference on Monday, police identified Thomas James and Richard Fierro as the people who stopped the suspected gunman. Fierro was in the U.S. Army for 14 years and served in Iraq three times and Afghanistan once, Army spokesperson Sgt. Pablo Saez told ABC News.
Seventeen people were injured from gunshot wounds, police said.
Aldrich is facing five counts of murder and five counts of bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, which is Colorado’s hate crime law.
Watch Colorado Gov. Jared Polis discuss the deadly shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub tomorrow on “The View.”
A second gun was also recovered at the scene, police said. Aldrich had “considerable ammo” and was “extremely well armed,” Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers told “Good Morning America” on Monday.
Among those killed was Daniel Aston.
“He was smart, he was funny, he was talented. He was an amazing human being,” Aston’s fiance, Wyatt Kent, told ABC News.
When gunfire erupted in the club, Kent said two people fell on top of him, protecting him.
Kent said a woman who fell on him “was moaning,” and he told her to “keep squeezing my hand.” She had been shot in the chest and “passed away on top of me,” he said.
Kent credits that woman for saving his life.
The first 911 call came in at 11:56 p.m. Saturday and an officer was dispatched to the scene seconds later, Lt. Pamela Castro, spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Police Department, told reporters. The first officer arrived at midnight, and the suspect was detained by 12:02 a.m., Castro said.
Bartender Michael Anderson told ABC News he heard pops, and when he looked up he saw “the shadow of a grown man wielding a rifle.”
Anderson said he ducked down and heard glass shatter and bottles break. He said he then ran outside to the patio to hide.
“It was absolute chaos. People were running, screaming. And the screaming intensified as people became aware of what was happening,” he said. “No one ever expected that here.”
“I am haunted by some of the things I saw,” he said.
Aldrich was injured and remains in the hospital, police said. Medical personnel will determine when he is released to authorities, Castro said.
The court has sealed the arrest warrant and supporting documentation connected with Aldrich’s arrest. According to the motion by prosecutors, if the records were “released, it could jeopardize the ongoing case investigation.”
Aldrich was arrested in a June 2021 bomb threat incident after the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office was alerted that he was in possession of a homemade bomb, law enforcement officers briefed on the investigation told ABC News. He was charged with two counts of felony menacing and three counts of first-degree kidnapping, but no explosives were found in his home, Colorado Springs radio station KRDO reported.
Aldrich’s 2021 arrest may not have appeared on background checks because the case does not appear to have been adjudicated, according to officials briefed on the investigation.
ABC News and other news organizations have petitioned the court in Colorado to unseal the records about Aldrich’s 2021 arrest.
Colorado’s red flag law, which went into effect in 2020, allows relatives, household members and law enforcement to ask a judge to order the seizure of a gun owner’s weapons if that owner is believed to be a risk to themself or others.
It is unclear whether the law would have stopped the suspect from targeting the club, El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder told ABC News.
Elder did not recall the circumstances surrounding Aldrich’s 2021 arrest, he said.
Club Q is a safe haven for the LGBTQ community, the police chief said. The club hosts a weekly drag show and live DJ on Saturday nights, according to its website.
The owner of Club Q, Nic Grzecka, told ABC News that they didn’t recognize the suspect and had never seen him inside their business.
Active shooter protocol was also activated, Grzecka said, which is something Club Q has had in place since the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with all the victims and their families and friends,” the club said in a statement posted on Facebook. “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
The shooting unfolded on the eve of the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that “the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years,” drawing comparisons to the Pulse nightclub shooting.
“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often,” Biden said. “We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper tweeted that the LGBTQ community needs to be protected from “this hate.”
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet tweeted that he was “sending strength to those who were injured, the survivors, and Colorado’s LGBTQ community.”
“As we seek justice for this unimaginable act, we must do more to protect the LGBTQ community and stand firm against discrimination and hate in every form,” Bennet said.
“Our hearts are broken for the victims of the horrific tragedy in Colorado Springs, and their loved ones.” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement Sunday. “This unspeakable attack has robbed countless people of their friends and family and an entire community’s sense of safety. You can draw a straight line from the false and vile rhetoric about LGBTQ people spread by extremists and amplified across social media, to the nearly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year, to the dozens of attacks on our community like this one.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said, “My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured and traumatized.”
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Matt Gutman, Teddy Grant, Jenna Harrison, Ahmad Hemingway, Luis Martinez, Amanda Morris, Molly Nagle, Alyssa Pone, Robert Zepeda and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
(SAVANNAH, Ga.) — The mother of missing Savannah, Georgia, toddler Quinton Simon has been charged with his murder after remains were found at a landfill, police announced Monday.
Leilani Simon, 22, reported her 20-month-old son missing on Oct. 5. One week later, Chatham County police said they believed Quinton was dead and authorities named the boy’s mother as the primary suspect.
Simon has been charged with malice murder, concealing the death of another person, false reporting and making false statements, according to Chatham County police.
Police said they don’t anticipate any other arrests besides Simon.
On Oct. 18, police said they believed Quinton had been left in a dumpster, and authorities announced that a search was underway for his body in the local landfill.
Searchers spent 30 days scouring 1.2 million pounds of trash, police said.
Searchers found remains at the landfill on Friday, police said, and testing is now underway to determine whether the remains belong to Quinton.
“The working conditions were grueling and hazardous, and searchers knew that the chances of finding Quinton were low,” police said in a statement. “Historically, the FBI says landfill searches are only successful 5% of the time.”
“We are indebted to the many law enforcement and public service agencies who assisted with this search,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said.
(HINGHAM, Mass.) — A man died and 16 people were injured after an SUV crashed into an Apple store in Hingham, Massachusetts, Monday morning, the Plymouth County District Attorney said.
The 2019 Toyota 4Runner barreled into the store at about 10:45 a.m., smashing through the glass, which struck multiple people, District Attorney Tim Cruz said at a news conference.
People both inside and outside of the store were injured, and a few people were pinned up against the wall of the store, according to Hingham Fire Chief Steve Murphy. Bystanders helped provide first aid, Murphy said.
Officials at South Shore Hospital said it received patients with head trauma, “mangled limbs” and life-threatening injuries.
The driver is “with police,” officials said, but they did not elaborate.
Cruz said investigators are looking into “every avenue” of the crash, including whether there is a criminal element.
Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey, was identified as the man killed. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“This morning was an unthinkable morning and people are trying to get through it and process what happened,” Cruz said.
(WASHINGTON) — Fresh off several weeks of celebrations for his family and political party, a jovial President Joe Biden expressed thanks on Monday as he took part in the annual White House tradition of pardoning turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving dinner.
“The votes are in, they’ve been counted, verified. There’s no ballot stuffing, there’s no fowl play,” Biden laughed on the White House South Lawn just before freeing the North Carolina-raised 2022 National Thanksgiving Turkey, Chocolate, and Chip, the alternate, from their imminent futures on dinner plates this Thursday.
“The only ‘red wave’ this season is going to be a German Shepherd, Commander, knocks over the cranberry sauce on our table,” he said, in reference to his family’s dog, who watched over the turkey pardoning tradition from a nearby balcony, while quipping about the recent strides Democrats made during the 2022 midterm election cycle, during which they deflected what many experts anticipated would be sweeping congressional victories for Republicans. Instead, Democrats were able to maintain control of the Senate while hanging onto additional seats in a now GOP-controlled House.
The birds, which weigh 46 and 47 pounds, were raised by National Turkey Federation chairman Ronnie Parker near Monroe, North Carolina. He hosted the birds, along with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop, a Republican, among others.
The White House on Saturday celebrated Biden’s first-born grandchild Naomi’s wedding to fellow Washington lawyer Peter Neal, before observing another landmark on Sunday: the president’s 80th birthday.
“It’s a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition here at the White House. There’s a lot to say about it, but it’s chilly outside so I’m gonna keep this short. Nobody likes it when their turkey gets cold,” Biden joked during remarks spanning about 10 minutes while the temperature dipped to the mid-40s.
NTF is celebrating 75 years of this national Thanksgiving tradition, which dates back to 1947 with President Harry Truman in 1947. Unofficially, reports point all the way back to President Abraham Lincoln, who spared a bird from its demise at the urging of his son, Tad.
The turkey duo was a fitting pair for Biden: his favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip.
“Of course, chocolate … is my favorite ice cream,” he said, “We could have named them ‘Chips,’ and ‘Science’ but anyway, they’re good names as well,” nodding to another Democrat-led accomplishment from the year, a multibillion-dollar bill to boost domestic computer chip manufacturing and more.
The birds will live out the rest of their lives at North Carolina State University, joining the Wolfpack.
“Now, when we told them they were joining the Wolfpack, they got a little scared, but then we explained it was just a mascot for the school as one of the nation’s best poultry science departments in the country,” Biden said.
With all the fun and frivolity, Biden did have some more serious thoughts to share on the holiday and the reason for the season, celebrating that this year will see families gather more freely than in years past, when the COVID-19 pandemic inhibited the holiday season.
“We can’t forget the reason for Thanksgiving in the first place. The pilgrims taught us it’s pretty important in tough times to come together and thank God to be grateful for what we have. That’s what the Thanksgiving tradition is all about. Being grateful for what we have and grateful for fellow Americans who we may never meet, but who — there you go, they’re grateful,” Biden said, making a pitch for people to get their COVID shots.
“And think about the scientists or researchers, doctors and nurses keeping us safe through the pandemic. Two years ago, we couldn’t even safely have Thanksgiving with the large family gatherings,” the president said.
Biden ended the event with a unifying message for a divided country post-midterm elections:
“Folks. Let’s remember, all political fighting goes on, you read about. Let’s remember one thing. This is the United States of America,” he said. “The United States of America. There’s not a single solitary thing beyond our capacity as a nation, nothing beyond our capacity. If we do it together, united, united.”
Following the event on Monday afternoon, Biden and first lady Jill Biden are headed to the turkeys’ home state, to the Marine Corps Air station in Cherry Point, North Carolina, for a Friendsgiving celebration with troops and their families.
(HINGHAM, Mass.) — Multiple people were injured after a car crashed into an Apple store in Hingham, Massachusetts, Monday morning, according to a law enforcement official.
The number of people hurt was not immediately clear.
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — Five people were killed and dozens others were injured in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado, officials said.
The suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, allegedly began shooting with a long rifle as soon as he walked into Club Q in Colorado Springs late Saturday night, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said.
At least two people, whom authorities described as heroes, then confronted Aldrich and fought with him, which saved more lives, police said.
The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
Bartender Michael Anderson told ABC News he heard pops, and when he looked up he saw “the shadow of a grown man wielding a rifle.”
The first 911 call came in at 11:56 p.m. Saturday and an officer was dispatched to the scene seconds later, Lt. Pamela Castro, spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Police Department, told reporters. The first officer arrived at midnight, and the suspect was detained by 12:02 a.m., Castro said.
At least two guns, including a long gun, were recovered from the scene, police said.
In addition to the five victims who were killed, at least 25 people were injured, according to Colorado Springs city officials.
Aldrich was injured and remains in the hospital, police said. His release will be determined by medical personnel, Castro said.
He’s facing five counts of murder and five counts of bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury.
The owner of Club Q, Nic Grzecka, told ABC News that they didn’t recognize the suspect and had never seen him inside their business.
Active shooter protocol was also activated, Grzecka said, which is something Club Q has had in place since the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Club Q hosts a weekly drag show and live DJ on Saturday nights, according to its website. The club described the shooting as a “hate attack,” saying it was “devastated by the senseless attack on our community.”
The club is a safe haven for the LGBTQ community, Vasquez said, adding that he is saddened and heartbroken by the attack that took place there.
Aldrich was arrested in a June 2021 bomb threat incident after the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office was alerted that he was in possession of a homemade bomb, law enforcement officers briefed on the investigation told ABC News.
He was charged with two counts of felony menacing and three counts of first-degree kidnapping, but no explosives were found in his home, Colorado Springs radio station KRDO reported.
Colorado’s red flag law, which went into effect in 2020, allows relatives, household members and law enforcement to ask a judge to order the seizure of a gun owner’s weapons if that owner is believed to be a risk to themself or others.
It is unclear whether the law would have stopped the suspect from targeting the club, El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder told ABC News.
Elder did not recall the circumstances surrounding Aldrich’s 2021 arrest, he said.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis tweeted that he is “devastated.”
“My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured and traumatized in this terrible shooting,” he said.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with all the victims and their families and friends,” the club said in a statement posted on Facebook. “We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
The shooting unfolded on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that “the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years,” drawing comparisons to the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.
“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often,” Biden said. “We must drive out the inequities that contribute to violence against LGBTQI+ people. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper tweeted that the LGBTQ community needs to be protected from “this hate.”
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet tweeted that he was “sending strength to those who were injured, the survivors, and Colorado’s LGBTQ community.”
“As we seek justice for this unimaginable act, we must do more to protect the LGBTQ community and stand firm against discrimination and hate in every form,” Bennett said.
“Our hearts are broken for the victims of the horrific tragedy in Colorado Springs, and their loved ones,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement Sunday. “This unspeakable attack has robbed countless people of their friends and family and an entire community’s sense of safety. You can draw a straight line from the false and vile rhetoric about LGBTQ people spread by extremists and amplified across social media, to the nearly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year, to the dozens of attacks on our community like this one.”
