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LGBTQ club shooting suspect is non-binary, had troubled past

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Huw Griffith, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="This handout photo released by the Colorado Springs Police Department on Novemver 23, 2022, shows the mugshot of Anderson Lee Aldrich, suspect in the club Q shooting. Aldrich has not been formally charged, but is being held on suspicion of murder. Under Colorado" s="" judicial="" formal="" charges="" are="" not="" expected="" for="" another="" days.="" The="" hearing="" came="" less="" than="" four="" days="" after="" a="" gun-wielding="" attacker="" stormed="" Club="" Q="" in="" Colorado="" strafing="" customers="" and="" staff.="" Springs="" Police="" Department="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/11/24/suspect.jpg"/><figcaption>This handout photo released by the Colorado Springs Police Department on Novemver 23, 2022, shows the mugshot of Anderson Lee Aldrich, suspect in the club Q shooting. Aldrich has not been formally charged, but is being held on suspicion of murder. Under Colorado&#x27;s judicial system, formal charges are not expected for another 10 days. The hearing came less than four days after a gun-wielding attacker stormed Club Q in Colorado Springs, strafing customers and staff. Colorado Springs Police Department / AFP</figcaption></figure></div>LOS ANGELES, United States - Lawyers for the 22-year-old accused of murdering five people at a Colorado LGBTQ club revealed their client is non-binary ahead of an initial court appearance Wednesday, as details emerged of a chaotic past including family breakdown and a name change.At least 18 others were hurt when a gun-wielding attacker stormed Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday night, strafing customers and staff.The assault, which ended when a US Army veteran pounced on the attacker, shattered a rare safe haven for the city&#x27;s tight-knit LGBTQ community.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/21/22/colorado-mass-shooter-stopped-by-heroic-people-inside-club-police">Colorado mass shooter stopped by &#x27;heroic&#x27; people inside club: police</a></li></ul>On Wednesday, suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich remained seated wearing orange jail clothes during a brief court appearance by video link from a county lock-up.No charges were levied, and no pleas entered.Aldrich was flanked by two public defenders, who said in court documents filed Tuesday that the suspect identifies as nonbinary, and uses they/them pronouns.The defendant spoke only to confirm their name and that they had been shown a video outlining their rights, when questioned by county court judge Charlotte Ankeny.Aldrich has not been formally charged, but is being held without bond on suspicion of murder. Under Colorado&#x27;s judicial system, formal charges are not expected for another 10 days. A picture of Aldrich&#x27;s messy life began to emerge Wednesday, with a childhood marked by instability and with parents who suffered from substance abuse problems.<div>Instability</div>US media reported that Aldrich was born Nicholas Brink to parents who had separated by the time the child turned two.Nicholas became Anderson Lee Aldrich in a legal name change during teenage years spent in Texas.By then, The New York Times reported -- citing court records -- Aldrich&#x27;s father Aaron Franklin Brink, had logged several arrests in California in connection with drug and driving offences.Brink, a conservative Republican who said he had previously worked as a porn actor, told CBS in San Diego that his ex-wife, Laura Voepel, informed him several years ago that their child was dead.He continued to believe this until a phone call with Aldrich a few months ago which degenerated into an argument and threats by the suspect to assault Brink.Brink, who said he now coaches mixed martial arts, told CBS he had &quot;praised&quot; Aldrich for violent behavior as a child.&quot;I told him it works. It is instant and you&#x27;ll get immediate results,&quot; the father said.He also acknowledged to a Times reporter &quot;that he had voiced strong disapproval of gay people when the child was younger.&quot;But, the paper said, he expressed sympathy for those affected by the deadly shooting in Colorado Springs.The paper said Voepel had also had run-ins with California law enforcement, including for public drunkenness and in connection with possession of a controlled substance.In 2012, she was given five years&#x27; probation in Texas for setting fire to a bed in the psychiatric ward to which she had been admitted, according to court records seen by the Times.Wednesday&#x27;s brief hearing came just days after the brutal attack in Club Q, with the small Rocky Mountain city of half a million people still reeling.A bank of flowers and teddy bears formed a makeshift memorial outside the club, while on Monday night a candlelit vigil was held in a city center park.But along with the mourning, there has also been praise for the bravery and quick-thinking of military veteran Richard Fierro, who was visiting the club with his wife.Fierro told reporters he had snatched the attacker&#x27;s pistol.&quot;I don&#x27;t know exactly what I did, I just went into combat mode,&quot; he said. &quot;I just know I have to kill this guy before he kills us.&quot;I grabbed the gun out of his hand and just started hitting him in the head, over and over,&quot; he told The New York Times.A tentative new court appearance for Aldrich has been scheduled for December 6.<div>hg/ec</div><div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

Lawyers for the 22-year-old accused of murdering five people at a Colorado LGBTQ club revealed their client is non-binary ahead of an initial court appearance Wednesday.

LGBTQ club shooting suspect is non-binary, had troubled past

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LGBTQ club shooting suspect is non-binary, had troubled past

Huw Griffith,

Agence France-Presse

Published Nov 24, 2022 07:42 AM PHT

Read More:

Colorado

mass shooting

LGBTQ

crime

hate crime

Colorado Springs

Club Q

Anderson Lee Aldrich

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