AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
We're still learning details about the deadly shooting in Colorado last night. Shortly after midnight, a shooter entered Colorado Springs' Club Q, an LGBTQ establishment, and according to police, the shooter immediately opened fire. At least five people have been killed and 18 have been injured, but we hear those numbers might change. We're joined now by Colorado Public Radio's Dan Boyce. Good morning, Dan.
DAN BOYCE, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: At first, I want to start off by saying I'm sorry for what is happening in your community. Dan, you were at the press conference earlier today. What did we learn?
BOYCE: Right. Well, what we did learn is this shooter who came into the Club Q nightclub just in the couple minutes before midnight last night came in. And yes, those initial numbers - we had five people dead and 18 injured, but it does look like the number of injured is increasing. More people are checking themselves into the hospital, and there are a number of those who are in critical condition. However, police have also identified a suspect. And here's police chief Adrian Vasquez.
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ADRIAN VASQUEZ: The suspect has been identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, a 22-year-old male. At least two firearms were found at the scene. We are still working to identify the firearms and who they belong to, but I can confirm that the suspect used a long rifle during the shooting.
RASCOE: Dan, can - what can you tell us about this nightclub and, you know, its position in the community?
BOYCE: Colorado Springs sort of has a famously conservative reputation. There are five military bases in the city, and it's also sort of a national hub for evangelical Christian thought and culture. However, it's also a city of a half a million people, so it is diverse, and there are lots of different communities throughout this city. There are also, say, four universities in town. So what we have here is a situation where during this press conference, people were immediately trying to make clear that, this one lone individual, this lone shooter, does not represent our community. Here's some more information from Chief Vasquez.
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VASQUEZ: Initial evidence and interviews indicate that the suspect entered Club Q and immediately began shooting at people inside as he moved further into the club. While the suspect was inside of the club, at least two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the suspect and were able to stop the suspect from continuing to kill and harm others. We owe them a great debt of thanks.
RASCOE: In the about 30 seconds we have left, what do we know about the suspected shooter and his possible motives?
BOYCE: We don't know much about motives. Police are keeping that close to the vest. The FBI is also involved in this investigation now. We do know there was a bomb threat last year in a neighborhood in Colorado Springs put forth by a man of the same name, Anderson Lee Aldrich. So we don't know if those two are the same individual, but that sure could be the case.
RASCOE: That's Colorado Public Radio's Dan Boyce. Thank you so much for speaking with us.
BOYCE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
