Anderson Lee Aldrich Opened Fire Immediately and Was Awake for Days—Affidavit

The alleged shooter in a deadly attack at a gay nightclub in Colorado opened fire immediately after going inside and had been awake for days, according to an arrest affidavit.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, is accused of killing five people and injuring more than a dozen others before being wrestled to the ground inside Club Q in Colorado Springs on November 19.

Aldrich, who attorneys say is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, began firing indiscriminately with an AR-15-style rifle as soon as they entered the club, according to an arrest affidavit written the day after the shooting and unsealed on Wednesday evening.

The affidavit says Aldrich opened fire "almost immediately upon entering the main area of the club."

"When Anderson exited the driver's door of the vehicle, it was apparent that he was wearing a ballistic vest and was carrying an AR-15 style assault rifle," the document said.

"He entered the business and, after entering the business a short distance, he opened fire indiscriminately at patrons inside of the club."

The affidavit also includes an image from the club's surveillance footage showing a blast coming out of the rifle barrel as Aldrich entered the club.

Richard Fierro, an Army veteran hailed as one of the people who helped disarm the suspect, told police that he was at Club Q with family and friends to watch his daughter's friend perform, according to the affidavit.

Fierro said they were sitting near the stage when he heard multiple gunshots near the club's front door and ducked for cover. Fierro said he saw the suspect with an AR-style rifle and a bulletproof vest shooting towards what he believed to be the patio area.

He "stated he observed an unknown male pull the suspect to the ground and he went over to help him," the affidavit said. The suspect was lying face-down on the ground when Fierro said he "got on his back, and began striking him," it added. "Richard Fierro stated the suspect continued to try and grab the AR-rifle which was towards the suspect's right hand."

Fierro said he grabbed the suspect's handgun and "began striking him anywhere he could on the suspect's body to get the suspect to stop fighting."

The affidavit does not reveal any new information about what motivated the shooting, but said Aldrich had expressed remorse to medical staff.

At a hospital in the early hours of November 20, officers guarding Aldrich's hospital room reported overhearing them "tell medical staff he was sorry and he had been awake for four days," the affidavit said.

Th affidavit also said that Aldrich's mother, Laura Voepel, told police that they were supposed to go to a movie at 10 p.m. that night—about two hours before the attack.

Voepel said Aldrich had left before then, telling her they had to run an errand that would "only take 15 minutes."