Club Q Suspect Wanted to Be ‘the Next Mass Killer,’ Court Docs Say
The alleged gunman who shot and killed five people at the gay nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., promised to become “the next mass killer” in the summer of 2021, according to sealed court documents obtained by the Associated Press and local TV station KKTV.The vow was made around a former standoff at a house where the Club Q suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, allegedly hoarded weapons and body armor, including a homemade bomb.“Anderson Lee Aldrich loaded bullets into a Glock pistol and chugged vodka, ominously warning frightened grandparents not to stand in the way of an elaborate plan”… “to become ‘the next mass killer,’” the AP reports.According to the documents, Aldrich told relatives who lived at the home that if the police came in, the house would be blown “to holy hell.”The suspect surrendered to police after livestreaming it on Facebook.The charges related to the standoff were dropped.
Media outlets report that no guns were seized from the home. The AP reports that authorities have not explained why because the case is sealed.Aldrich’s threats forced 10 homes in the area to be evacuated.The new information brings to light possible failures of law enforcement and prosecutors in pursuing Aldrich at the time, which would have led to Aldrich being charged and possibly convicted.It was a warning that may have gone unheeded.A relative or the authorities could have asked a judge to confiscate any weapons under an extreme risk order under the state’s “red flag” law.
