Colorado Springs shooting suspect makes first court appearance

The alleged attacker appeared in court via video chat on Wednesday and was ordered to be held without bail.

A memorial sign saying 'I hope u know how loved u are' next to a bucket of roses, with the faces of victims in the blurred background
A makeshift memorial commemorates the victims of a mass shooting in the US city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, where five were killed and 17 wounded at an LGBTQ club [David Zalubowski/AP Photo]

The suspect in a mass shooting that killed five people and wounded 17 at an LGBTQ nightclub in the United States appeared in a court hearing on Wednesday with obvious facial injuries, mumbling and slumped to the side in a wheelchair.

The initial hearing, conducted by video link from jail, was the public’s first look at Anderson Lee Aldrich since the shooting and the suspect’s beating by club patrons late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

Defence lawyers with the Colorado State Public Defender said in court filings on Tuesday that Aldrich identifies as non-binary.

Aldrich, 22, had been in a hospital from early Sunday morning until Tuesday, before being transferred to El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The defendant was handcuffed and wearing a jail uniform during the hearing.

El Paso County Judge Charlotte Ankeny ordered that Aldrich be held without bail.

Though officials have not detailed the injuries, the suspected attacker was pummeled and pistol-whipped by Richard Fierro, a decorated former Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, in a successful effort to stop further bloodshed at Club Q in Colorado’s second-largest city. At least two others were involved in kicking and subduing the suspect.

When Judge Ankeny asked the defendant to state a name, Aldrich, after a pause, uttered a barely intelligible response. Aldrich also answered a pair of procedural questions with “yes” and “no”.

Defence lawyers declined to comment after the hearing.

Police initially held Aldrich on arrest charges of five counts of first-degree murder and bias crimes stemming from the Saturday night killings.

After the hearing, El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen said he expected to file formal criminal charges at the defendant’s next court hearing, tentatively scheduled for December 6.

In the meantime, Allen said his office would continue to ask that Aldrich be held without bail. He added that Aldrich’s non-binary identity would have no bearing on how he would prosecute the case, including whether to charge Aldrich with hate crimes.

“I’m looking at evidence, evidence of what occurred here. That’s what we look at when we make filing decisions,” Allen told reporters.

The prosecutor also said Aldrich appeared physically competent to take part in the hearing, despite the injuries.

The five who died are Kelly Loving, 40, Daniel Aston, 28, Derrick Rump, 38, Ashley Paugh, 34, and Raymond Green Vance, 22.

Source: Reuters