The 23-year-old shooter accused of killing five people and injuring 17 at a gay nightclub in Colorado pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder Monday.
Anthony Lee Aldrich who identifies as nonbinary, allegedly entered Club Q just before midnight on November 19 and began shooting during a drag queen’s birthday celebration.
They pleaded guilty to five counts of murder in the first degree and 46 counts of attempted murder in the first degree.
According to the judge, Aldrich will receive five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole on the murder charges and will receive 46 consecutive 48-year sentences for the attempted murder counts followed by mandatory periods of parole.
The killing stopped after patrons wrestled the suspect to the ground, beating Aldrich into submission, investigators said.
The five victims ranged in age from 22 to 40.
A police detective testified in February that Aldrich used racial slurs while gaming, posted an image of a rifle scope trained on a gay pride parade and used a homophobic slur when referring to someone who was gay.
The statements came out during a three-day trial to determine if there was enough evidence to warrant hate crime charges against Aldrich.
Detective Rebecca Joines said evidence also indicates that Aldrich was considering livestreaming the attack.
Surveillance video from that night showed Aldrich entering the club wearing a red T-shirt and tan ballistic vest while holding an AR-style rifle, with six magazines for the weapon and a pistol visible, said police Detective Jason Gasper. Soon after entering, Aldrich opened fire indiscriminately.
The attack at Club Q came over a year after Aldrich had been arrested for threatening their grandparents and vowing to become “the next mass killer.” But, charges were ultimately dropped in that case.
In April, Colorado passed gun control measures prompted by the nightclub shooting.
Colorado has suffered some of the nation’s most notorious massacres, including 13 killed in 1999 at Columbine High School, 12 killed in 2012 at an Aurora movie theater, 10 killed in 2021 at a Boulder supermarket and five killed last November at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub.
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