The guy who allegedly opened fire inside an LGBTQ+ nightclub over the weekend, killing five people and wounding at least a dozen more, has been identified by Colorado police and his booking photo has been made public.
On charges of murder and hate crime, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich was taken into custody.
Anderson Lee Aldrich Appears Bloodied in Court
Aldrich allegedly started shooting on Saturday night inside Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. Prior to midnight, they received emergency calls reporting an active shooter; Aldrich is reportedly thought to have used an AR-15-style weapon, according to police.
It has now been reported that US Army veteran Richard Fierro and another unnamed woman, who is thought to have kicked Aldrich in the face after Fierro had thrown him to the ground, were the ones who managed to subdue Aldrich.
Fierro visited the club with his wife, daughter, and daughter's boyfriend to watch a drag act that featured his daughter's friend and celebrate a friend's birthday. The 22-year-old boyfriend of Fierro's daughter, Raymond Greene Vance, died in the assault.
Customer Ashley Paugh, 35, bartender Derrick Rump, 38, bartender Kelly Loving, 40, and customer Derrick Aston, 28, are the other victims. Anderson Lee Aldrich was detained in a kidnapping case out of El Paso County, where Colorado Springs is located, as Law&Crime previously reported.
Authorities said that Aldrich's mother, Laura Voepel, claimed that he had threatened to harm her with a homemade bomb, several firearms, and ammo. Per CNN, Aldrich was finally apprehended and jailed on two charges of felony threatening and three counts of first-degree abduction after first defying officials' requests to surrender.
Colorado Springs Shooter's Shady Background
Aldrich is California Assemblyman Randy Voepel's grandson. Voepel, a Republican, has a "mixed voting record" on issues pertaining to LGBTQ+ people. He also hailed the strike on the US on January 6. Capitol, purportedly comparing it to the Revolutionary War and calling it the "first guns fired against tyranny."
Aldrich appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday. According to records, he is presently being detained in the El Paso County Jail without posting bail.
Meanwhile, it has come to light that Anderson Lee Aldrich's father is an ex-con, a former MMA fighter who resorted to pornography, and who also used drugs. According to a source, Aaron Franklin Brink, 51, has appeared in a variety of reality TV programs, such as 'Intervention' and 'Divorce Court.'
Anderson Lee Aldrich changed his name to Anderson Lee Aldrich as a result of his father's shady background, according to the Denver Gazette. It has been made known that Aldrich's mother likewise has a murky background and was previously apprehended by law enforcement.
In 2016, the shooter changed his name from Nicholas Franklin Brink to Anderson Lee Aldrich, according to a petition signed by the shooter's mother, grandmother, and step-grandfather. It's now known that Brink had a significant role in his son's choice to alter his name.
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