A shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs killed five people and injured 18 others overnight, police said early Sunday.
Club Q, where police said the first call came in minutes before midnight, described it as a “hate attack.”
Lt. Pamela Castro, a police spokesperson, told reporters the suspect was injured, in custody and receiving treatment at a hospital. She declined to comment on a motive and said the FBI was assisting in the investigation.
“We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack,” Club Q said in a statement on its Facebook page, which had posted hours earlier that it was planning a drag brunch to celebrate Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday.
“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” it said. The venue is described as a gay and lesbian nightclub that hosts theme nights including karaoke and drag shows, according to a directory listing by an LGBTQ community center in the Rocky Mountain region.
Police officers had entered the club overnight as they responded to reports of the shooting and located “one individual believed to be the suspect inside,” Castro said.
She said the casualty toll “is subject to change as the investigation continues,” adding that ambulances and police had transported “numerous people” to hospitals. The hospitals are helping to notify families of the victims, she added. It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was one of the 18 injured.
Capt. Mike Smaldino, spokesperson for the fire department, said 34 firefighters and 11 ambulances were dispatched to the scene to help quickly move people to hospitals.
“As we pray for those fighting for life, we must use loud voices to stand up against hate,” Rep.-elect Eric Sorensen (D), the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Illinois, tweeted early Sunday. He said the shooting showed that “our country must turn down the hateful rhetoric aimed at our LGBTQ community.”
In one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history, a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 at a gay nightclub in Orlando in 2016. People were trapped for hours until the shooter, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group, died in a gun battle with a SWAT team.
