Club Q shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich, beaten unconscious by patrons with his own gun, receives life plus 190 years

A 22-year-old gunman killed five people and wounded 19 others during a mass shooting inside a Colorado Springs nightclub, police said.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, attacked the LGBTQ venue in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to court documents.

On November 19, 2022, the shooter entered Club Q just before midnight, prosecutors said.

The nightclub was hosting patrons ahead of an event scheduled to lead into a morning birthday brunch, police said.

Aldrich opened fire inside the crowded building, killing five people and wounding at least nineteen more, according to court records.

Patrons inside the venue took action to stop the shooting before law enforcement officers arrived, police said.

Army veteran Richard Fierro, who was at the club alongside his family, tackled the shooter to the ground, records show. Fierro tore the pistol from Aldrich’s hands and beat the gunman with the weapon, police said.

A female patron joined the struggle and stomped Aldrich with her heels until he stopped moving, according to police.

Police arrived at the scene to find the suspect already subdued on the floor, records show. A booking photo taken hours later documented the outcome of the beating, police said.

State prosecutors filed charges including murder, attempted murder, and bias-motivated crime counts, court documents state.

In June 2023, Aldrich entered a guilty plea to avoid facing a state trial, records show.

A state judge sentenced Aldrich to 55 consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole, court documents show.

Federal prosecutors then brought 74 additional charges under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, records state. The agreement took the death penalty off the table in exchange for a federal guilty plea, prosecutors said.

In June 2024, a federal judge sentenced Aldrich to life in prison without parole followed by an additional 190 years, records show.