Colorado Springs nightclub patron grabbed gun from shooter: mayor

The gunman who opened hearth at a homosexual nightclub in Colorado Springs on Saturday night time was subdued by a patron who snatched a handgun from the shooter and struck him with the firearm, in line with town’s mayor.

Mayor John Suthers instructed CNN’s Jim Acosta on Sunday that police have been referred to as to Membership Q at 11:57 p.m. and responded inside three minutes.

However the lethal taking pictures, which claimed the lives of 5 individuals and injured at the least 25 others, was over by the point police arrived at 12:02 a.m. due to two “heroic” people who took down the gunman earlier than officers arrived, Suthers stated.

“[The patron] seems to have taken a handgun, [the suspect] had a handgun with him, and used it to disable him,” Suthers stated on CNN, clarifying the patron hit him with the weapon and didn’t pull the set off to fireplace it.

“However for that — as tragic as this incident is, it’s a horrible crime — it might have been a lot, a lot worse.”

As soon as the suspect was on the bottom, one other individual rushed to assist pin him and maintain him down, in line with the New York Instances.

The suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, is being handled for his accidents at a neighborhood hospital.

Police say Aldrich, who seems to have made bomb threats to his mom final 12 months, opened hearth with a protracted gun on the Membership Q, a well-liked homosexual and lesbian bar within the space.

Aldrich was carrying physique armor and was outfitted with an AR-15-style rifle, in line with the New York Instances.

The taking pictures got here on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to honor transgender individuals who have been killed due to transphobia.

It additionally echoed the 2016 taking pictures on the Pulse homosexual nightclub in Orlando, Fla., which left 49 individuals lifeless. LGBTQ leaders have condemned the taking pictures and referred to as for an finish to anti-LGBTQ hate speech.

Police stated they haven’t but recognized a motive behind the assault.

Suthers stated in an announcement on Sunday morning that Colorado Springs was a “sturdy neighborhood that has proven resilience within the face of hate and violence prior to now, and we’ll do this once more.”

“As a neighborhood, we’ll present for the victims and witnesses of this horrific occasion and regulation enforcement will pursue this case with the zealousness that the case deserves,” Suthers stated.