(Reuters) – A 23-year-old was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty yesterday to killing five people in a 2022 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Anderson Lee Aldrich pleaded guilty in Colorado state court to five first-degree murder counts and 46 attempted murder counts, part of an agreement reached with prosecutors that avoided what could have been a lengthy trial. Aldrich also pleaded no contest to two counts of bias-motivated crimes.
On Nov. 19, 2022, Aldrich, wearing body armor and armed with a rifle and a handgun, opened fire at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub. Apart from those killed, nearly two dozen others were wounded by gunfire or otherwise injured before being stopped by “heroic” patrons. Aldrich, then 22, was charged with 323 criminal counts.
During the sentencing hearing immediately following the plea, family members of the victims spoke tearfully about their loved ones and expressed fury at Aldrich. Several survivors, some of whom suffered gunshot wounds, described the horrors of that chaotic night.
