Unexpectedly: a deadly shooting at a gay club in Colorado was arranged by an LGBT representative

The alleged shooter, who is charged with the hate crime shooting at a nightclub in Colorado Springs, is due to appear in court on Nov. 23 after he was transferred from the hospital a day earlier to jail, reports APNews.

Photo: IStock

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who was beaten during the November 19 shooting at ClubQ, was due to appear at the hearing via videoconference. The motive for the shooting is still unclear, but authorities said Aldrich faces charges of murder and hate crimes.

Hate crime charges will require proof that the shooter was motivated by a bias, such as against the victims' actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

The charges against Aldrich are preliminary and prosecutors have yet to file formal charges. Aldrich is represented by Joseph Archambo. Lawyers from the office do not comment on cases in the media.

On the subject: A man opened fire at a Walmart in Virginia: 6 people were killed, five were injured

Later lawyers said the suspect was non-binary. A non-binary person is a person whose gender identity is neither feminine nor masculine. The defense team claims that Aldrich uses the pronouns they/them for his identification.

Aldrich's name was changed over six years ago as a teenager, after filing a legal petition in Texas to "protect himself" from a father with a criminal history, including domestic violence against Aldrich's mother.

Aldrich was known as Nicholas Franklin Brink until 2016. Weeks before age 16, Aldrich applied to a Texas court for a name change, court records show. The name change petition was filed on Brink's behalf by their grandparents, who were their legal guardians at the time.

“The person wants to protect himself and his future from any connections with his father and his criminal history. The father has had no contact with the minor for several years,” the petition said.

The suspect's father is a martial arts fighter and pornographic film actor with an extensive criminal history, including convictions for assaulting the alleged shooter's mother, Laura Voeple. The assaults occurred both before and after the suspect was born, state and federal court records show. In 2002, California issued a protective order that initially prohibited the father, Aaron F. Brink, from seeing or communicating with the suspect or his mother, but the document was later amended to allow the father supervised visits with the child.

The father was also sentenced to 2,5 years in prison for importing marijuana and, according to public records, violated his terms during his supervised release by testing positive for illegal steroids.

Aldrich's request for a name change comes months after he became the target of an online bully.

Allegedly, Aldrich was bullied in high school. The site posted pictures purporting to be of the suspect being insulted because of his weight, lack of money and his interest in Chinese cartoons.

In addition, a YouTube account was set up in Brink's name with an animation titled "Asian Homosexual Gets Violated".

The court papers for Aldrich's arrest were sealed at the request of the prosecutor's office. Police said Aldrich has been released from the hospital and is being held at the El Paso County Jail.

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Local and federal officials declined to answer questions about why hate crime charges are being considered. District Attorney Michael Allen noted that murder charges would carry the harshest sentence of life in prison, while bias-related offenses were eligible for review. He also said it was important to show the community that bias crimes are unacceptable.

Aldrich was arrested last year after his mother said her child had threatened her with a pipe bomb and other weapons.

Authorities at the time stated that no explosives had been found. But gun control advocates questioned why the police didn't use Colorado's laws to ban the possession and confiscation of guns from untrustworthy citizens.

A longtime Club Q patron who was shot in the back and hip said the club's reputation made the establishment a target.

Speaking in a video message released by UC Health Memorial Hospital, Ed Sanders said he was thinking about what he would do during the mass shooting as he recalled the 49 massacre of 2016 at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

“I think this incident highlights the fact that LGBT people need to be loved,” Sanders, 63, said. — I want to be persistent. I am a survivor. Some sick person didn't kill me."

The attack was stopped by two club goers, including Richard Fierro, who told reporters that he had taken a gun from Aldrich, hit him with it, and pinned him to the ground with the help of another man until the police arrived.

The victims of the brutal attack were 5 people: Raymond Green Vance, 22, a native of Colorado Springs, who saved up money to buy his own apartment, Ashley Pow, 35, a mother who helped find a home for foster children, Daniel Aston, 28, club bartender and entertainer, Kelly Loving, 40, whose sister described her as "caring and sweet," and Derrick Rump, 38, another club bartender who was known for his jovial disposition.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• At a nightclub in Colorado shooting happened: 5 people died and 25 were injured.

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