Five killed, 18 wounded in Colorado LGBTQ nightclub shooting

WASHINGTON, United States - At least five people were killed and 18 wounded, police said Sunday, in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in the US city of Colorado Springs.

The attack came as partygoers appeared to gather for an event marking the Transgender Day of Remembrance, held annually on November 20 to honor the memory of trans people who were killed in acts of transphobic violence.

The shooting is the latest in a long history of attacks on LGBTQ venues in the United States, the deadliest of them in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.

"It's with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we had a shooting at a local club this evening," said Colorado Springs Police Department spokesperson Pamela Castro.

"We have 18 injured and five deceased. That number is subject to change as the investigation continues," she said. "The FBI is already on the scene and assisting."

Castro said police received an emergency call just before midnight on Saturday (0657 GMT Sunday) saying that there was an active shooting at a local club known as Club Q. 

She said medical teams and officers responded and "they did locate one individual who we believe to be the suspect inside," adding that the suspect was in custody and being treated at a local hospital. 

Club Q responded by saying it "is devastated by the senseless attack on our community." 

"We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack," it posted on Facebook Sunday.

The club had posted earlier on Saturday about an LGBTQ event starting at 8:00 pm. 

"We're celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance with a variety of gender identities and performance styles," the post read.

An emergency medical team including 34 firefighters and 11 ambulances was dispatched to the scene of the shooting, according to Colorado Springs Fire Department spokesperson Mike Smaldino. 

"Unfortunately these are events we do train for, as far as what we call a 'mass casualty,' so that is why we had such a big response," Smaldino said.

Smaldino added that some ambulances had to carry two or three victims to multiple nearby hospitals.

The Colorado Springs Police Department said there would be an 8:00 am news conference on the shooting.

600 MASS SHOOTINGS IN 2022

The US Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people are wounded or killed.

On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire inside the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50 in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. 

US President Joe Biden marked the fifth anniversary of the Orlando shooting last year, taking the rare step of saying he would designate the club as a national memorial.

Gun violence is a major problem in the United States, where more than 600 mass shootings have occurred so far in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.

Mass shootings have repeatedly reignited debate on gun control, a hot-button issue in the country, though little headway has been made in Congress on calls for reform.

Agence France Presse

Police arrest Colorado abortion clinic gunman, 11 injured

COLORADO SPRINGS - Police arrested a gunman who stormed a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado Springs on Friday and opened fire with a rifle in a burst of violence that left at least 11 people injured, including five officers, authorities said.

The suspect, who engaged in a protracted gun battle with police, surrendered to officers inside the building about five hours after the clinic siege began.

Authorities did not report any fatalities, but a police spokeswoman, Lieutenant Catherine Buckley, said police were still searching for possible victims who might have been left behind in the clinic as the building was evacuated.

"I do not have any confirmation of fatalities at this point," Buckley said.

A Reuters photographer at the scene saw a man in a white T-shirt, with his hands cuffed behind his back, being taken out of an armored police vehicle and placed in an unmarked squad car. Authorities said they did not know the suspect's identity but believed he acted alone.

His capture was first confirmed by the city in a message posted to its Twitter account. Police elaborated on the circumstances in a news conference moments later.

"We did get officers inside the building. They were able to shout to the suspect and make communication with him and at that point they were able to get him to surrender and he was taken into custody," Buckley said.

An hour earlier, police said progress in securing the building was slowed by the fact that the gunman brought "some bags" with him into the clinic and left several items outside, all of which needed to be checked for possible boobytraps or explosives.

After the arrest, Buckley said it would take hours more, and perhaps days, for investigators to fully process the crime scene.

She said 11 people injured in the incident, including five police officers, were taken to area hospitals for treatment.

Police swarmed the area around the building after an emergency call reporting shots fired at about 11:30 a.m. Mountain Time (1830 GMT), and officers ultimately confronted the suspect inside the building, Buckley said.

Television footage aired by CNN showed a number of clinic staff and patients being escorted safely into police vehicles from the building, which lies on the northwest side of Colorado Springs, about 70 miles (112 km) south of Denver.

The FBI and agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting local law enforcement investigators.

President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting by his Homeland Security adviser, Lisa Monaco, and "will be updated on the situation as necessary, a White House official said.

The Planned Parenthood center provides abortions, screening for sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy testing and other services, according to its website.

"We don't yet know the full circumstances and motives behind this criminal action," Vicki Cowart, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, said in a statement.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com