As the police in the US state of Colorado announced, a 22-year-old man entered the club with a gun and immediately shot. He was overwhelmed by guests and is injured in the hospital. Several wounded club visitors had suffered life-threatening injuries, doctors said. According to the police, some of the injuries could not have come from gunshots, but from the crush during the escape. It can also not be ruled out that the information on the number of injuries would have to be adjusted, since some people drove to hospitals in private vehicles instead of ambulances.
The first 911 call about the shooting at Club Q in the city of Colorado Springs was received just before midnight. A police spokeswoman said it was still being determined whether it was a case of hate crime. The federal police FBI, which is active in such cases, also takes part.
The club-goers had come to an event to mark the “Transgender Day of Remembrance”, which is celebrated every year on November 20 in honor of trans people who have been killed by violent crimes.
The shooting is the latest in a long line of attacks on LGBTQ+ venues across the United States, the worst of which took place in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. At that time, a gunman killed 49 people in a nightclub serving the LGBTQ+ scene before he was shot dead by police himself.
To mark the fifth anniversary of the Orlando shooting last year, President Joe Biden designated the club a memorial. Gun violence is a major problem in the United States, which has seen more than 600 mass shootings so far in 2022, according to the website Gun Violence Archive. According to the website, this means shootings in which at least four people are wounded or killed.
Incidents of gun violence have repeatedly fueled the debate about tougher laws in the United States. Despite this, little progress was made in Congress on calls for reform.
uh/fab (dpa, afp, rtr)