Shooter in Colo. LGBTQ Bar Massacre Convicted of 74 Hate Crime and Weapon Charges amid Pride Month

Anderson Lee Aldrich received 55 consecutive life sentences and 190 years in prison after pleading guilty to hate crime charges for killing five people in 2022

The person who opened fire at an LGBTQ bar in 2022 and killed five people has been sentenced to nearly 200 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple hate crime and weapon charges.

Kelly Loving, Raymond Green, Ashley Paugh, Daniel Davis Aston and Derrick Rump were killed in the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., that took place on Nov. 19, 2022, PEOPLE reported at the time, citing the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Anderson Lee Aldrich pleaded guilty to 74 hate crimes and firearms charges on Tuesday, June 18 and was sentenced to 55 consecutive life sentences and 190 years in prison, according to a press release issued by the Office of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to the Justice Department, "Aldrich admitted to murdering five people, injuring 19, and attempting to murder 26 more in a willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated attack at Club Q."

“Today’s sentencing makes clear that the Justice Department is committed to protecting the right of every person in this country to live free from the fear that they will be targeted by hate-fueled violence or discrimination based on who they are or who they love,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement, per the release.

Related: Army Veteran and Drag Performer Among the Heroes Who Stopped Club Q Gunman: 'I Was Done with War'

United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney handed down the sentence and admonished the shooter, who uses they/them pronouns, for attacking a "community's safe space," according to ABC News.

"This community is much stronger than you, stronger than your armor and stronger than your weapons and sure as hell stronger than your hatred," Sweeney said, further noting the significance of them being sentenced during Pride month, an annual celebration that honors the LGBTQ community.

At the time of the sentencing, the shooter was already in prison for state charges they pleaded guilty to in 2023, per ABC News. They received five consecutive life sentences in that case, Colorado Public Radio reported. 

The shooter, who was 22 at the time, carried out the massacre on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, PEOPLE reported at the time, citing authorities.

Ashtin Gamblin, who was working at the front door of Club Q on the night of the massacre, spoke at the sentencing. “There was no regard for my life, there should be no regard for theirs,” said Gamblin, who was shot nine times, CBS affiliate KKTV reported.

Some survivors said this is the "final chapter" of the rampage for them. “This should be the end of it, hopefully, but I guess it will never end for us,” survivor Ed Sanders said, according to KRDO.

Svetlana Heim, a former employee of the club, told the outlet she considers it "the last chapter of a book. It's done now. Very final.” 

Related: Colorado Springs Survivor Recounts Terror of LGBTQ Club Shooting: 'All I Could Think of Was Pulse'

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“This was one of the most violent hate-fueled mass shootings targeting the LGBTQIA+ community in our nation's history,” Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke said in a press conference following the sentencing.

“Today's sentencing should send a loud message,” she continued. “We will not tolerate hate in our country and purveyors of bias-motivated violence will be held accountable for their actions."

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