Club Q Massacre Survivors Tell Their Story
The mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs has shaken the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado and across the country. As the full scope of the massacre becomes clear, so do the stories of survival and bravery.
Stories of terror that will never leave those affected. The Advocate spoke to two of them.They thought their friend Tara, or DJ T Beats, was spinning somewhere else on Saturday night, so Gil Rodriguez and Felicia Juvera didn't intend to go to Club Q.
However, they made their way to Club Q for the first time since the Pride before COVID-19 when they realized their friend would be providing the night's soundtrack there.Rodriguez, Juvera, and two friends, Josh and Sal, arrived at Club Q around 11, Rodriguez tells The Advocate. "Vibes were great," he says. "It wasn't super packed yet like it normally is.
There were about 50 people there enjoying themselves."As midnight began to approach, Juvera says she was chatting with two bartenders from whom she had ordered drinks for the group."I was having conversations with the bartender who was bringing drinks back to our table and just having friendly conversations at the bar," she says.As Juvera, 35, returned to the table where Rodriguez, 32, and the other friends were seated, she thanked the bartenders for a free drink they had given her."They were so friendly," she says.Suddenly, Rodriguez says, he heard a loud gunshot that he first thought was part of the loud hip-hop music playing.
