The accused suspect in the Club Q mass shooting has been hit with a staggering 305 charges after allegedly killing five people and injuring 25 more and the Colorado Springs gay club last month, according to the New York Post.
On Tuesday morning, Anderson Lee Aldrich appeared in court for the first time since being arrested, where their mugshot showed a bruised-up face after heroic bar patrons stepped in to subdue him, as previously reported by The Shade Room.
Anderson Lee Aldrich Charged With 305 Counts At First Court Appearance On Tuesday
Aldrich, who identifies as non-binary, sat alongside their public defender as prosecutors presented their case.
They were charged with of five counts of first-degree murder alongside hundreds of first- and second-degree assault charges and “many counts of bias-motivated crimes.”
Michael I. Travis (L) and Dr. Michael R. Travis (R) place a flag at a memeorial for the victims of a mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on November 20, 2022. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP) (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images)
The 22-year-old reportedly opened fire inside Club Q on Nov. 19 and continued to shoot for six minutes before be tackled by patrons.
Bartenders Daniel Davis Aston, 28, and Derrick Rump were among the five people killed.
“I thought it was the music, so I kept dancing,” survivor Joshua Thurman told reporters of the horrifying scene. “Then I heard another set of shots and then me and a customer ran to the dressing room, got on the ground, locked the doors and called the police immediately.
He added: “There were bodies on the ground, blood, broken glass, broken cups and outside it was worse.”
Accused Club Q Gunman Subdued & Attacked By Club Patrons, Ordered Held Without Bond
Aldrich, the estranged child of former UFC fighter and porn actor Aaron Brink and grandchild of outgoing California GOP state assemblyman Randy Voepel, was ultimately arrested at the scene and has since been ordered held without bond.
Evidence markers are placed at the scene near a 7-11 where a victim was found near Club Q on November 20, 2022 in Colorado Springs (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers had told the AP that the deadly attack only ended after a patron grabbed a gun from the suspect before hitting him with it and pinning him down until authorities arrived.
Aldrich and their mother, Laura Voepel, were both well-known to local authorities prior to last month’s mass shooting.
Accused Gunman’s Mother Arrested For Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest A Day After Mass Shooting
Aldrich’s mother, 45, was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct a day after the shooting.
Voepel was told by police “multiple times” to “stop yelling” at her home or she would be arrested, according to a summons obtained by KDVR.
She reportedly became combative and resisted arrest, the outlet reports.
In court Tuesday, the state’s counsel claimed the case against Aldrich was “voluminous” and added that prosecutors may amend their charges in the coming weeks.
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