Anderson Lee Aldrich
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Anderson Lee Aldrich (born May 20, 2000) is an American man who committed an anti-LGBT bias-motivated mass shooting at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on November 19-20, 2022, killing five people and injuring 25 others.
Biography edit
He was born as Nicholas F. Brink in 2000, to Aaron Brink and Laura Voepel. He is the grandson of California Assemblyman Randy Voepel. As a teenager, Nick Brink was in and out of juvenile detention; for example, in 1996, he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for smuggling marijuana into the country. Brink was also the target of cyberbullying during his teenage years.
In 2016, he petitioned a Texas court to change his name to Anderson Lee Aldrich to protect himself from his father, who had a criminal history. The petition was granted days later, just before his 16th birthday. Court records show that his grandparents were his legal guardians. Aldrich was living in San Antonio at the time.
In June 2021, Aldrich, then 21 years old, was arrested for issuing a bomb threat against his mother. After police responded to the report, Aldrich initially refused to surrender, leading to a standoff at Voepel's house during which nearby homes were evacuated. However, no charges were pursued in the case.
Colorado Springs nightclub shooting edit
At 11:56 p.m. on November 19, 2022, Aldrich, 22, entered Club Q during a dance party, wearing body armor and armed with an AR-15 style rifle. He immediately began shooting at people. Minutes later, club patron and U.S. Army veteran Richard M. Fierro charged through the club and tackled Aldrich to the ground, disarming him, and repeatedly hit him in the head with his own gun. Aldrich was held down until the authorities arrived approximately five minutes later at 12:02 a.m. He was taken to a local hospital and placed in custody.
Victims edit
- Daniel Aston, 28
- Kelly Loving, 40
- Ashley Paugh, 35
- Derrick Rump, 38
- Raymond Green Vance, 22