COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) — The suspect in the Club Q mass shooting that killed five people was charged with 305 counts Tuesday.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, appeared in person Tuesday for a formal filing of charges. During the hearing, Aldrich was charged with 305 counts that included multiple counts of first-degree murder with intent and deliberation and extreme indifference as well as multiple counts of hate crimes.
District Attorney Michael Allen noted that the murder charges could carry the harshest penalty, which is life in prison. According to Allen, Aldrich was also charged with multiple counts of attempted murder.
During the suspect’s first court appearance last month, Allen said, “We are going to be the voice for the victims in the courtroom. And that we will be fighting alongside them through this entire process.”
Aldrich was beaten into submission by patrons during the shooting at Club Q. During Aldrich’s first hearing, they appeared visibly injured and was barely audible when answering the judge’s questions.
Defense attorneys said the suspect is nonbinary. Standard court filings submitted by the defense team refer to the suspect as “Mx. Aldrich,” and the attorneys’ footnotes assert that Aldrich is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. The motions deal with issues like unsealing documents and evidence gathering, not Aldrich’s identity and there was no elaboration about it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.