Colorado gay club shooting suspect charged with hate crimes

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The suspect accused of entering a Colorado Springs gay nightclub and killing five people and wounding 17 others was formally charged with 305 criminal counts including hate crimes and murder. The charges came as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich appeared in court Tuesday. Investigators say Aldrich entered Club Q, a sanctuary for the LGBTQ community in largely conservative Colorado Springs, just before midnight on Nov. 19 and began shooting during a drag queen’s birthday celebration. The shooting came more than a year after Aldrich was arrested for allegedly threatening to become the “next mass killer” and engaging in a standoff with SWAT teams.