The perpetrator of a shooting at an LGBT+ nightclub in the western United States was sentenced to life in prison on Monday after pleading guilty in a harrowing hearing.
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The perpetrator of a shooting at an LGBT+ nightclub in the western United States was sentenced to life in prison on Monday after pleading guilty in a harrowing hearing.
Armed with a pistol and an assault rifle, Anderson Lee Aldrich opened fire on November 19, 2022 at the Q Club in Colorado Springs shortly after a drag queens show, killing five and injuring 18.
The 23-year-old, who identified as non-binary according to his lawyers, was overpowered by two clients who threw him to the ground and disarmed him.
The judiciary had brought 305 charges against him, including murder and attempted murder.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, bearded and stout, appeared before a Colorado Springs judge Monday to plead guilty, avoiding a trial.
Relatives of his victims then testified to their pain. “I will never forgive you for your heinous crime,” said notably Sabrina Aston, whose son Daniel died at Q nightclub.
At the conclusion of that hearing, Judge Michael McHenry handed down a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“Like so many other people in our culture, you were looking for the power behind the trigger of a firearm,” the judge told ABC.
The conviction shows “that such an act cannot be tolerated and that the LGBTQ+ community is as much a part of the human family as you are,” he added.
Since the tragedy, details have surfaced about the killer’s chaotic life, whose parents were drug addicts and who endured an unstable childhood. But his motive is disputed: the prosecution mentioned homophobia, which the defense denies.
The bloodbath had reignited fears in America’s LGBT+ community six years after the worst killing in its history: On June 12, 2016, an Afghan-American killed 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.
He also reiterated the danger of guns in the United States, where there are more guns than people.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 20,000 people have died since early 2023, including by suicide.