California woman says shooting at gay club could have been prevented had earlier charges not been dismissed

A California woman who warned a judge last year about the danger posed by the suspect in the Colorado Springs gay nightclub shooting said on Friday that the deaths could have been prevented if earlier charges against the suspect had not been dismissed.

Jeanie Streltzoff – a relative of alleged shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich – urged Colorado judge Robin Chittum in a letter last November to incarcerate the suspect following a 2021 standoff with Swat teams that uncovered a stockpile of more than 100 pounds (45kg) of explosive material, firearms and ammunition.

Patrons at Club Q flipped over tables for shelter after shots suddenly rang out across the venue

Deanne VanScyoc said she had dropped to the floor behind a pool table at Club Q and called 911 as the first shots rang out just before midnight, hitting people at the bar.

VanScyoc was facing the entrance from behind a glass wall when the shooter came in, she said. The shooter turned right and fired a single shot toward the bar, then three more in rapid succession, then a flurry of shots. As pop music pounded and a strobe light flashed, VanScyoc saw the shooter, in body armor, move in a crouch down a ramp, rifle at eye level, and head toward the dance floor.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, scheduled to appear by video from jail over attack that left five dead and at least 17 wounded

The alleged gunman facing possible hate crime charges in the fatal shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs nightclub was scheduled to make a first court appearance on Wednesday from jail, after being released from hospital.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who was beaten into submission by patrons at Club Q on Saturday night, was scheduled to appear by video. Motive was under investigation but authorities said Aldrich faced possible murder and hate crime charges.