Dozens gathered Tuesday night at the former site of Club Q in Colorado Springs to mark two years since a gunman stormed the LGBTQ+ nightclub, killing five people and injuring 19 others.
The candlelight vigil, held near the foundations of a memorial being constructed in their honor, brought together family and friends of those lost. Some held rainbow umbrellas in the below-freezing temperatures, while others cupped their hands around small candles to keep them lit in the windy conditions.
“It was two years ago on this evening that a lot of us were gathered in this parking lot for a very different reason, because we had just gone through something traumatic, horrific, unforgettable and detestable,” said Michael Anderson, one of the new owners, who was working the night of the shooting, said. “Many of us in this parking lot tonight saw the face of evil firsthand.”
The shooting claimed the lives of Daniel Aston, 28; Raymond Green Vance, 22; Ashley Paugh, 35; Derrick Rump, 38; and Kelly Loving, 40.
The memorial features five pillars, representing the five victims, around a flagpole. Atop waves a Pride flag. The site is adorned with lights and posters dedicated to the victims who died that night.
“Daniel loved Club Q,” Sabrina Aston, Daniel’s mother, said. “He moved here in 2020 during the pandemic… He started going to Club Q just to hang out and got hired. And he just thrived. He met so many people, had so many friends here in the short two years that he had living here.”
The remembrance also occurred as news spread of two lawsuits filed against the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the club’s owners, alleging the shooting could have been prevented.
Many present the night of the attack did not attend the vigil, having sworn they would never visit the site of the killing again. The club itself moved about five miles south; it has rebranded as “The Q” and is now located within the Satellite Hotel. A gathering at the new club was planned for after the vigil on Tuesday night.
Ed Sanders was a regular at Club Q since 2010 and was shot twice during the attack. He said it felt strange to be back in the same parking lot two years later.
“I'm lucky to be here and thankful and proud of my wounds and my injuries,” Sanders said. “And proud to be able to talk about it now and not let people forget. These were good people, five good people.”
Tuesday’s gathering was a remembrance of the victims and their families, but also a calling to make sure similar tragic events don’t happen again.
“To the general public, I also implore you. We do not have to live like this,” Anderson said. “There is no reason our country should continue to be riddled with this type of discrimination, hatred and violence. It is disgusting.”
“On top of trying to memorialize our five fallen and plan and chart a new path forward, we have consistently used Club Q's platform to advocate for change,” Anderson said. “A change that is long overdue in this country. There is no reason, not one, that any person need suffer what so many of us suffered within the walls of this building. Not one reason.”
The shooter, Anderson Aldrich, pleaded guilty to more than 120 state and federal charges and is serving 55 concurrent federal life sentences at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. Aldrich was sentenced last year.
- Club Q survivors, families file lawsuits against sheriff, owners, saying shooting could have been prevented
- After Club Q: Surviving the unthinkable and navigating the journey forward
- Club Q shooter pleads guilty to 74 federal charges, sentenced to life in prison
- One year later, hundreds gathered to remember those killed and honor survivors in Club Q shooting
