Remington 22 long rifle.
Police say LGBTQ club shooter used ‘long rifle’ and acted alone: What we know about the attacker and Colorado gun laws
Five people were killed and 25 injured in a gunman’s attack on a Colorado Springs gay nightclub just before midnight Saturday. Authorities are scrambling to determine what led to the attack.
After patrons confronted the gunman and stopped the shooting, which occurred during Transgender Awareness Week, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez identified the gunman as Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22.
According to El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen, investigators are examining all possible motives and whether a hate crime should be prosecuted. The suspect will likely face first-degree murder charges, he said.
There were 49 victims killed in the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. It has been the scene of many mass killings in Colorado, including at Columbine High School in 1999, at a movie theater in suburban Denver in 2012, and at a Boulder supermarket in 2013.
After 21 people were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last year, this was the sixth mass killing this month.The shooter in Saturday’s deadly attack is:
Police say the assailant acted alone; he reported prior contact with officers.Despite offering few details about Aldrich’s background, police said they believe he used a “long rifle” and acted alone. According to the New York Times, the club owners did not know the suspect and were unaware of any recent threats.
Aldrich was unknown to two residents of an apartment complex where he may have lived once. Police had been asking questions, according to a resident.
In 2021, authorities arrested a man with the same name and age as Aldrich after his mother reported he threatened her with “a homemade bomb, multiple weapons, and ammunition like Remington 22 long rifle.”
Colorado gun laws
Title 18: A person may carry a firearm in a vehicle if the firearm will be used for the lawful protection of the person or property of another.
[C.R.S. 18-12-105(2)] Colorado law also allows a person to possess a handgun in a dwelling, place of business, or automobile. However, when you carry the weapon into your home, business, hotel room, etc. it must be in plain view. Local jurisdictions may not enact laws that restrict a person’s ability to travel with a weapon. [C.R.S. 18-12-105.6] The Act permits the nationwide carrying of concealed handguns by qualified current and retired law enforcement officers and amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 (Pub. L. 90-618, 82 Stat. 1213) to exempt qualified current and retired law enforcement officers from state and local laws prohibiting the carry of concealed firearms.
Title 33: A weapon may be carried in a vehicle . All firearms, other than pistols and revolvers, must be unloaded before being carried in or on a motor vehicle.
