In a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in the US city of Colorado Springs, at least five people were murdered and 18 others were injured, according to authorities.
According to a Facebook post by the event’s host, Club Q, partygoers who appeared to be commemorating the Transgender Day of Remembrance subdued the shooter. Police have the suspect in custody.
The shooting is the most recent in a long line of assaults against LGBTQ establishments in the US; the bloodiest of them occurred in 2016 at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Pamela Castro, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Police Department, stated, “I have to notify you that we had a shooting at a neighborhood club this evening.
“There are 18 wounded and 5 dead.
The inquiry is ongoing, so that number might change “She spoke.
“The FBI has arrived and is assisting,”
Castro claimed that shortly before midnight on Saturday (06:57 GMT Sunday), police in the Colorado city got a call reporting an active shooting at Club Q.
She said that the suspect was in custody and receiving treatment at a nearby hospital when cops and medical teams reacted, and “they did identify one man who we believe to be the suspect inside.”
In its reply, Club Q declared that it was “devastated by the senseless attack on our community.”
On Sunday, the company said on Facebook, “We salute the swift reactions of courageous customers that restrained the gunman and terminated this hate assault.”
Below the post, hundreds of messages of support were arriving, some from countries as far away as Sweden, Britain, New Zealand, Germany, and Australia.
The club announced an LGBTQ event beginning at 8pm earlier on Saturday.
According to the article, “We’re honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance with a diversity of gender identities and performance styles.”
Every year on November 20, the Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed to pay tribute to the transgender persons who lost their lives as a result of transphobic violence.
According to Mike Smaldino, a spokesman for the Colorado Springs Fire Department, an emergency medical team consisting of 34 firefighters and 11 ambulances was sent to the shooting scene.
Unfortunately, we do prepare for these scenarios—what we refer to as “mass casualties”—which is why there was such a large response, according to Smaldino.
Several ambulances had to transport two or three casualties to neighbouring hospitals, he added.
There will be a press conference about the incident at 8 am (1500 GMT), according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
