Accused Club Q Shooter Pleads Guilty in Court
The 23-year-old assailant who carried out a deadly shooting rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs pleaded guilty on Monday to dozens of charges of murder and attempted murder, avoiding a prolonged trial over an attack on members of the L.G.B.T.Q.
community. Under the terms of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors after months of discussion with survivors and relatives of the dead, the defendant, Anderson Lee Aldrich, separately pleaded “no contest” to two state hate-crime charges.
The defendant was given multiple life sentences — meant to ensure that the defendant will never be released — and is waiving any right to appeal.
The defendant, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, stood on Monday in a courtroom packed with victims of the attack and relatives of the dead, and tersely answered a series of questions from Judge Michael McHenry about whether the defendant understood the terms of the plea.
