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'I had taken a bullet to my leg:' Colorado Springs shooting survivor speaks out

Colorado Springs LGBTQ club shooting: Here's the latest updates
Colorado Springs LGBTQ club shooting: Here's the latest updates 12:41

More information is coming out about the mass shooting that claimed the lives of five people at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs.

Stories of heroism have been revealed, with several witnesses and the mayor of Colorado Springs saying people in the bar - either customers, employees or both - subdued the shooter until police arrived.

Jerecho Loveall spoke with CBS News Colorado about his experience. He was shot in the leg during the rampage and didn't realize it until later. He was sitting at the bar when the gunman entered the club.

"Everyone was scared. He came in shooting a rapid fire weapon. I'm not familiar with guns, so I can't tell you what kind of gun it was. But it was definitely a rapid-fire and it was definitely a rifle of some sort," he said.

Then he saw people in the bar jump on the shooter: "the people that got on top of them had people that were already injured and had already been shot. But the guy held him down and kept him down until the police arrived."

Loveall said he believes he's still in shock.

"I know there's pain there. And I know there should be pain there. But I, I feel the pain, I hurt, but I don't know if it's more mental or physical pain that I'm feeling at this moment," he said. 

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Jerecho Loveall describes being shot in the leg at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Nov. 20, 2022. CBS

Loveall has been going to that bar for over 12 years. He said he's been his" staple," in life." It's a good Saturday night that I've enjoyed and never had any issues," he said.

He described it as a "very relaxed, calm, family-oriented type of place," where you can "be yourself and not be judged."

Loveall, like other people who were there, said he never imagined something like this could happen at a place like Club Q. 

"You hear about it. You know about it. You see it everywhere else. But this was not something expected here and I mean, it's probably not ever really expected," he said.

Something else he didn't expect was to be among the injured. Even after it happened. Loveall had been shot in his leg, with the bullet exiting afterward.

"I was running around with adrenaline going through me, trying to find the people I was there with, trying to check on the people that I knew, the people that I hoped and prayed were safe," he said. "And then I went outside to try and help find everybody. I found my people and at that point is when we found out I had a wound on my leg that was bleeding. The paramedics wrapped my leg and I took myself to the hospital and that's when I found out I had a gunshot wound. Through and through."

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A memorial site sprang up outside the LGBTQ bar, "Club Q" in Colorado Springs, where a mass shooting claimed the lives of five people and injured over two dozen others on Nov. 20, 2022. CBS

According to official counts, 25 people were injured in the shooting and five people were killed. We expect an update Monday at noon from the Colorado Springs Police Department.

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