U.S.

Colorado gay club shooting suspect charged with hate crimes

By The Associated Press

/ AP

FILE - This booking photo provided by the Colorado Springs, Colo., Police Department shared via Twitter shows Anderson Lee Aldrich.  AP / Colorado Springs Police

The suspect accused of entering a Colorado Springs gay nightclub and killing five people and wounding 17 others was formally charged with hate crimes as well as murder Tuesday. 

The charges came as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich appeared in court on Tuesday. Investigators say Aldrich entered Club Q, a sanctuary for the LGBTQ community in largely conservative Colorado Springs, just before midnight on Nov. 19 and began shooting during a drag queen's birthday celebration. 

The attack came on on the eve of an annual day of remembrance for transgender people lost to violence. 

According to defense lawyers, Aldrich is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. 

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