The battered and bruised visage of the suspect in the mass shooting at the Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub was made public on Wednesday when authorities from the Colorado Springs Police Department released his mugshot. The suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, was beaten up and pistol-whipped by Club Q patrons after he stormed in late Saturday night and began firing, leaving five people dead and 18 others wounded.
Following the tone of the majority of mainstream-media coverage, President Joe Biden and other left-leaning leaders blamed the incident on LGBTQ hatred, even though there was no reason to draw this conclusion. The suspect was later found to be non-binary, uses “they/them” pronouns, and is referred to as “Mx. Anderson Aldrich.”
He made his first court appearance on Wednesday but was barely able to sit up.
The New York Times reported that Aldrich “sat slumped” and was “bruised, swollen and uttering slurred responses to a judge's brief questions.” Describing how he appeared on video footage: “The suspect… appeared on video from jail and was ordered held without bond. The accused shooter, who is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder and hate crimes, is expected to be formally charged at a hearing on Dec. 6.”
District Attorney Michael J. Allen said at a news conference that the suspect’s gender identity would not influence whether or not he files hate-crimes charges. “I'm looking at evidence,” Allen declared. “That's what we look at when we make filing decisions.”
According to the NY Post, the suspect had a hard time even speaking:
“Anderson Aldrich, did you watch the video concerning your constitutional rights in this case?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” Aldrich replied in a whisper after a lengthy pause.
“Do you have any questions about those rights?” the judge continued.
Aldrich didn’t respond for several seconds before replying, “No.”
Aldrich’s shooting spree was stopped by a decorated army veteran, Richard Fierro, who beat the suspect, while a transgender woman in heels stomped on him. Fierro described his ordeal: “I just know I got into mode, and I needed to save my family – and my family was at that time everybody in that room,” he said during a news event outside his house on Monday. “That’s what I was trained to do. I saw him and I went and got him… I tried to save people, and it didn’t work out for five. There’s five people who aren’t home right now.
“I didn’t ask for this,” he concluded, adding he was there to watch his daughter’s junior prom date perform. “I’m not a hero, I’m just some dude.”
He also spoke about the tragic incident on CNN: “I did what I had to do.”
More details are expected to be released regarding the mysterious past of the shooter. As Nick Arama reported: “His [Aldrich’s] original name was Nicholas Brink. His father is Aaron Brink, a former ex-con MMA fighter and meth user, pornstar, and actor on some reality TV shows like ‘Intervention’ and ‘Divorce Court’.”
Aaron Brink hasn't seen his son in a long time. Aldrich’s mother also unsurprisingly has a troubled past, with current arrest warrants issued for her as well as prior arrests for arson in 2012.
It's a tragic, horrible tale, made more so by the accusations and speculations flying around, while the truths–most importantly, the motive–aren't fully established.
