The shooter who killed five people by opening fire in an LGBT+ club of Colorado in late November was charged on Tuesday with 305 counts, including several for “hate-motivated” murder. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, has been in custody since the shooting, which also injured at least 18 people.
The suspect, who his court-appointed attorneys say identifies as non-binary, appeared in court on Tuesday to face the long list of charges against him. Among these are ten counts of murder – two for each victim. They face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Mastered by a former military
Anderson Lee Aldrich also faces charges of attempted murder, hate crimes and assault. The bearded and portly suspect was wearing prison clothes and appeared to have recovered from injuries sustained when patrons of Club Q overpowered him, ending the carnage.
Richard Fierro, who was in the club, told the New York Times having caught the shooter as he was heading towards the terrace, where customers had taken refuge. Once the suspect was on the ground, this former soldier took his weapon and hit him on the head.
Details have since emerged about the chaotic life of the suspect, whose parents were drug addicts and who experienced an unstable childhood.