COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Victims and loved ones in an El Paso County courtroom Monday called the Club Q shooter a “terrorist” and a “monster” for the attack that killed five people and injured 17 others at the LGBTQ+ nightclub in November of 2022.
The 23-year-old suspect pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and dozens of other counts. They were sentenced to five consecutive life sentences plus 2,208 years in the department of corrections – the longest sentence handed down in the 4th Judicial District and second-longest in state history, according to District Attorney Michael Allen.
More than a dozen people had the chance to address the killer with victim impact statements after that guilty plea was entered.
“I want this terrorist to have visions of his terrorism haunt him for the rest of his life,” said Richard Fierro, who was hailed a hero for stopping the shooter during the attack.
“This thing sitting in this courtroom is not a human, it is a monster,” said Jessica Fierro, Richard’s wife. “The devil awaits with open arms.”
The Fierros’ daughter, Kassandra, was among those injured in the shooting. Her boyfriend, Raymond Vance, was killed.
Other speakers recounted firsthand the terror of the early morning hours of Nov. 20, 2022 and the trauma that has followed in the months since.
“All I could hear was the gunshots. These sounds haunt me,” one speaker said. “I didn’t know it then, [but] I was listening to my friends die.”
Michael Anderson, a bartender at the club, said he was “the only one to clock out” that night. Fellow bartenders Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump were among those killed.
“I was pouring a drink [...] when this monster came into my community and safe space and hunted us down as if our lives were meaningless,” he said. "For the pendulum to swing to, 'I’m about to die' is a whiplash I wish on no one."
Some recalled close encounters with the attacker that night, including Ashtin Gamblin, who says she rode in the same ambulance with the person who had killed five members of her “chosen family.”
Club Q Shooting
'Deepest malice of the human heart': What the judge said as he sentenced the Club Q shooter
Drea Norman recounted facing the shooter and helping stop the massacre.
“I heard [Richard Fierro] shouting he needed help, [and that the] shooter was trying to crawl away,” Norman recalled. “I stood above him, my only thought was to throw my foot down and stop him.”
“After 10 strikes or so, I stopped, feeling like that was more than enough and I walked away.”
Other speakers gave touching tributes to their loved ones who were hurt or killed.
"I refuse to let my sister be erased by horrific attacks against the LGBTQ community," said Tiffany Locing, whose sister, Kelly Loving, was murdered.
The defendant, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, mostly looked down as the victims spoke, glancing sometimes at a screen showing photos of the victims, according to The Associated Press.
“I intentionally and after deliberation caused the death of each victim,” they told the judge.
Monday’s arraignment hearing – which was preceded earlier this month by an AP report that the shooter planned to take a plea deal – was highly attended. Photographs showed the line to get through security extending to the plaza outside the El Paso County courthouse.
