COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) 鈥 One-by-one, nearly two dozen victims stood in a courtroom to confront the person who pleaded guilty to murdering five people and injuring 17 others in an attack last year on a nightclub that served as a sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs.
Some cried, others seethed with anger. They called Anderson Lee Aldrich coward, monster, terrorist.
Family and friends of the deceased and survivors who witnessed the shooter unleash terror at Club Q a week before Thanksgiving made sure during Monday鈥檚 emotional hearing that Aldrich won鈥檛 start a life prison sentence without confronting the truth of the many lives ruined or inalterably changed.
鈥淭his monster next to me decided to come into my job and our community safe space and begin hunting us down as if our lives were meaningless,鈥 said Michael Anderson, who was bartending that night. 鈥淗e has broken this community into pieces that may never be repaired.鈥
Aldrich pleaded guilty in state court to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder 鈥 one for each person at Club Q during the attack. Aldrich also pleaded no contest to two hate crimes.
Aldrich 鈥 who identifies as nonbinary and uses they and them pronouns 鈥 did not reveal a motivation during Monday鈥檚 hearing and declined to address the court during the sentencing.
The guilty plea followed a from Aldrich to The Associated Press expressing remorse.
But District Attorney Michael Allen said Aldrich鈥檚 statements were rang hollow. The prosecutor also rejected the notion that Aldrich was nonbinary, saying there was 鈥渮ero evidence鈥 prior to shooting to support that.
鈥淚 think it was a stilted effort to avoid any bias motivated or hate charges,鈥 said Allen. Allen said the defendant displayed 鈥渆xtreme hatred鈥 for the LGBTQ+ community and repeatedly called Aldrich a coward at a press conference following the sentencing.
Over hours of wrenching testimony Monday, the survivors and relatives of the dead talked about the recurring trauma they鈥檝e experienced and how it鈥檚 disrupted their jobs and emotional wellbeing. One expressed forgiveness for Aldrich while another, a woman whose daughter鈥檚 boyfriend was killed, told Aldrich:
Many who spoke said they wished Colorado still had the death penalty so it could be used on Aldrich. Several lamented the in the U.S.
Richard Fierro, a military veteran who joined others to stop Aldrich鈥檚 shooting spree last November at Club Q, stared at Aldrich as he spoke, his voice raising with palpable anger.
鈥淚 want this terrorist to have visions of his terror to haunt him for the rest of your life,鈥 said Fierro.
Drea Norman recalled the loud pops heard that night, the smell of gunpowder filling the club and the muzzle flashes that kept going. Crawling on all fours, Norman stumbled on to Raymond Greene Vance, already shot and without a pulse, then hid inside a freezer.
When the shooting stopped, Norman stepped around Vance and found bartender Derek Rump fatally shot on the patio. Then Norman heard shouts 鈥 Fierro calling for help keeping Aldrich down.
鈥淚 stood above him. My only thought was, 鈥榯hrow my foot down, stop him,鈥 and after what I imagine was ten strikes, I stopped,鈥 Norman said.
People in the courtroom wiped away tears as the judge explained the charges and read . Judge Michael McHenry also issued a stern rebuke of Aldrich鈥檚 actions, connecting it to societal woes.
For some, the killings had rekindled memories of the 2016 in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people.
Aldrich's guilty pleas came just seven months after the shooting and spares victim鈥檚 families and survivors a long and potentially painful trial. More charges could be coming: The FBI is working with the U.S. Justice Department鈥檚 civil rights division on a separate investigation into the attack, authorities confirmed.
Aldrich鈥檚 no contest plea on hate crimes charges effectively has the same impact as a conviction under Colorado law and doesn鈥檛 absolve them of responsibility.
Outside the courtroom, Joshua Thurman said he worries that someone will open fire again whether he鈥檚 at the grocery store, gas station or his apartment. Thurman said he鈥檚 in therapy and dealing with drinking problems.
鈥淓ven though I smile and laugh, I hurt,鈥 Thurman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so hard to not want to pick up a bottle. Eight, nine in the morning.鈥
Aldrich originally was charged in state court with more than 300 state counts, including murder and hate crimes. As authorities consider separate federal charges, the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office has requested no documents in the case be released, said Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez.
Stephanie Clark, the sister of Ashley Paugh, recalled her 11-year-old niece being hopeful that Paugh would be found safe after the shooting. The young girl's hope dissolved with cries of 鈥渘o, no, no鈥 and 鈥減lease do something鈥 after finding out her mother was gone.
鈥淭hat is something I wish he would hear every day for the rest of his life,鈥 Clark said. ___
This story has been updated to correct pronouns referencing Aldrich in the headline and the second paragraph.
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Associated Press reporters Michael Tarm, out of Chicago, and Matthew Brown, out of Denver, contributed to this story.
