Club Q Shooter Sentenced

The suspect in the mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, pleaded guilty yesterday to five counts of first-degree murder, 46 counts of attempted first-degree murder, and no contest to two counts of hate crimes.

The 23-year-old suspect, who is nonbinary, opened fire in November 2022 with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and a handgun at the Club Q nightclub, resulting in five deaths and 17 injuries. The shooter was tackled and disarmed by clubgoers before being taken into custody. The massacre came over a year after the suspect had been arrested and threatened to become "the next mass killer."

As part of the plea deal, the suspect will serve five consecutive life sentences for the murder charges and 46 consecutive 48-year sentences for the attempted murder charges. The deal avoided a trial; however, the victims' family members were allowed to share statements in court. It remains unclear whether prosecutors will file federal hate crimes charges.