As the anniversary of the tragic Club Q shooting passes, the memory leaves survivors and families of victims in grief. One year after the shooting, people are still haunted by this day and Club Q has decided to move locations, and focus on healing.
On November 19th, 2022, a mass shooting struck the LGBT nightclub, killing five people and injuring more. The shooter was 22 year old Anderson Lee Aldrich, and after he was arrested he claimed his actions weren’t a hate crime because he was a member of the LGBTQ community.
He pled guilty on June 26, 2023 and was sentenced to five terms of life in prison.
After the shooting, Club Q closed its doors and hasn’t reopened since. The owner of the Club, Michael Haynes said the plan was to rebuild the inside and improve security, but decided not to. The club will be moved to the satellite hotel and be renamed “The Q.”
“Change is sometimes extremely necessary when it comes to dangerous things like that. I’m just happy that they are still opening and trying so hard after the scare, they’ve been through enough,” says Nicole Kerns, a member of GTSA here at Doherty High School.
Now, a year later, the plans are starting to come together. Although there is no specific date for the club reopening, the new location will be managed and operated by the survivors of the shooting. Club management said, “We all have changed so many ways, but we sincerely hope that the new venue can be a small part of rebuilding the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ community,” according to in an interview with NBC News.
When the shooting happened, the LGBTQ+ community of Colorado Springs was hit with extreme sadness. People throughout the whole city were and still are all scared and disappointed in what this world has come to.
Another GTSA member Morgan Miller says, ” I think what happened at Club Q a year ago was devastating. I feel like moving locations and changing the name could be a good thing, but I also think that we should still honor the original name.”
Over the past years, the gun violence throughout the country and in Colorado Springs has gotten worse and worse. When the story about this incident came out, the world was shook. Everyone across the country was supporting Colorado Springs after the tragedy and it was comforting to some. It seems that people are excited about this change for Club Q, and hopefully the new location can continue to bring us together and honor the victims of the shooting.
