Victims of Colorado LGBTQ club shooting remembered by friends and family
Five people were killed and 25 injured in the shooting at Colorado Springs LGBTQ bar Club Q on Saturday 19 November.
The five people killed in last weekend’s mass shooting at Colorado Springs’ LGBTQ bar Club Q have been formally identified by authorities.
Five people were killed and 17 injured by gunshot wounds during the attack on the night of Saturday 19 November, Colorado Springs Police Department have confirmed.
One victim to have lost his life was 28-year-old Daniel Davis Aston. His mother, Sabrina Aston, told ABC News that her youngest son was an “amazing” transgender man who had moved to Colorado from Oklahoma and was always quick to make friends.
Leia-Jhene Seals, a drag performer who had been onstage Saturday night, recalled to The Gazette that Aston was always “energetic and helpful.”
Friends of Aston described him as a drag king, performer and bartender.
“He was always, ‘Do you need anything?’” Seals added.
Derrick Rump, co-owner of the bar, was also killed in the shooting.
Seals described Rump as bubbly and someone who liked to crack jokes.
“A lot of us, we don’t have family, and (LGBTQ+) people really need somewhere that’s a safe space,” Seals said. “Club Q was that to us.”
Tiara Latrice Kelley, a performer at Club Q who was scheduled to host the cancelled Transgender Day of Remembrance brunch, shared that Rump “kept his smile.”
“He was all about keeping people happy,” Kelley said of Rump.
Dani Birzer, a customer of Club Q, shared that the location was the only “landing spot” in the community where LGBTQ+ people felt safe and that Rump was key in making the club a safe space.
“I’m heartbroken and absolutely mortified,” Dani Birzer, a Club Q regular, said. “You always know this is a possibility when you go into a gay club because you know you’re not protected.”
“And you hope to God that if something does happen it’s (not) someone you are close with, but it’s always a possible reality. And now I know someone. It was not a matter of if; it was a matter of when.”
The third named victim is Kelly Loving, a 40-year-old trans woman.
Her sister, Tiffany Loving, described her as “loving” and “caring,” sharing with the New York Times she’d been informed by the FBI of her sister’s death.
“She was loving, always trying to help the next person out instead of thinking of herself. She just was a caring person,” Loving said.
Natalee Skye Bingham, a close friend of Loving’s, said she’s “so devastated because she was such a good person.”
“She was a tough woman,” Bingham added. “She taught me how it was to be a trans woman and live your life day to day.”
“She was like a trans mother to me. I looked up to her,” she continued, sharing she was on a FaceTime call with Loving just minutes before the shooting. “In the gay community you create your families, so it’s like I lost my real mother almost.”
The fourth victim has been named by Colorado Springs Police Department as Ashley Paugh.
The fifth victim has been named by Colorado Springs Police Department as Raymond Green Vance.
A representative for Club Q said in a statement on the venue’s Facebook page: “Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community.”
“Our prays [sic] and thoughts are with all the victims and their families and friends.”
“We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.”
The 22-year-old suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, was arrested after police identified him as the lone gunman.
A number of fundraisers have been started to help the family members of the victims and survivors and the LGBTQ community in general.
Club Q shared an official donation site to help victims of the shooting on its Facebook page.
Additionally, the donation site, Colorado Gives 365, supports the Colorado Healing Fund, created to deal with the aftermath of mass violence and provide victims with immediate and long-term support.
Greg Resha, a former employee of Club Q, is also helping to raise funds for medical and funeral expenses for the victims and families of the mass shooting.
Good Judy Garage, an LGBTQ-owned auto repair shop in the Denver area, has set a goal of $500,000 for funeral expenses, medical expenses and other expenses for the families of those who were killed or injured by the gunman.
Classroom of Compassion, an arts-focused nonprofit organisation in Los Angeles, has also set up a GoFundMe page to collect funds to set up public altars and a healing youth pop-up space in Colorado Springs to honour the victims.