“Club Q is shocked by the senseless attack on our community,” the establishment wrote on its Facebook page.
A gunman opened fire early Sunday morning at a gay club in Colorado, killing five people and wounding 18. It was the worst mass shooting in the country in a year in which homophobic rhetoric has escalated in extremist circles.
Police received a tip of a shooting at Club Q at 11:57 p.m., said Colorado Springs Police Lt. Pamela Castro.
There was an injured suspect receiving medical attention, Castro added. At first it was not clear if the assailant had been shot by police. The FBI was on the scene and assisting in the investigation, he added.
Local police tweeted that they would hold a press conference later.
Club Q is a venue aimed at the Lgtbq community that organizes a show called “Drag Diva Drag Show” on Saturdays, according to its website.
“Club Q is shocked by the senseless attack on our community,” the establishment wrote on its Facebook page.
The statement indicated that their prayers were with the victims and their families. “We appreciate the quick reactions from heroic customers who took down the shooter and put an end to this hateful attack,” he added.
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, but the event was reminiscent of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse club in Orlando, Florida, where 49 people were killed.
The shooting occurred in a state that has experienced several known mass murders, including one at Columbine High School, another at a suburban Denver movie theater in 2012 and one at a Boulder supermarket last year.
On June 31, members of the neo-Nazi group Patriot Front were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and charged with conspiring to riot at a Pride rally.
Experts warned that extremist groups might see homophobic rhetoric as a call to action.
The previous month, a fundamentalist pastor from Idaho told his small congregation in Boise that gay and transgender people should be executed by the government, a message similar to the sermons of another fundamentalist pastor in Texas.
Shooting at a gay venue, “Club Q”, in Colorado, USA less than an hour ago: 5 dead, 18 wounded. The author is still inside. pic.twitter.com/0MJV5ypDQN
— Otto Más ????️ (@Otto_Mas) November 20, 2022
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