DENVER — As the one-year mark of the Club Q mass shooting nears, the shooter has been moved to an out-of-state prison due to safety concerns, according to the Colorado Department of Corrections.
On Thursday evening, a spokesperson with the DOC confirmed that Anderson Lee Aldrich is now housed at the Wyoming State Penitentiary "due to safety concerns surrounding his high-profile cases."
No other details on the move were available.
On Nov. 19, 2022, Aldrich entered the LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs and opened fire on staff and patrons. Five people died and dozens more were injured in the attack. Aldrich was tackled to the ground and held until police arrived. The five people who died were identified as Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Derrick Rump.
Club Q Shooting
These are the 5 victims of the Colorado Springs Club Q shooting
After pleading guilty to the murder and attempted murder charges, Aldrich was sentenced in June to five consecutive life sentences in the Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole. In addition, the judge issued 46 consecutive 48-year sentences — or 2,208 years — for the counts of first-degree attempted murder.
He was booked into the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center a few days later.
Club Q Shooting
This is what the judge said as he sentenced the Club Q shooter on Monday
In a press conference after the sentencing, Fourth Judicial District Michael Allen said he wasn't sure where the shooter would serve the sentence.
"I hope in the smallest, most uncomfortable cell Colorado can provide him," he said. "I suspect a maximum security prison with the least amount of liberty he can possibly achieve."
The death penalty was mentioned by some of victims during the sentencing and subsequent press conference. But Colorado does not have a death penalty as a sentence for serious crimes — it was repealed by the governor in 2020 after he signed Senate Bill 20-100.
However, the FBI opened an investigation to determine if the Club Q shooter should face federal charges and the possibility of the death penalty, even though it's abolished on the state level. The FBI is working with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in this case.
During the press conference in June, DA Allen said that is why the death penalty is still a part of this case — should the shooter be convicted at the federal level of first-degree murder, lethal injection could be a possible outcome.
"The death penalty — the threat of the death penalty — in the federal system is a big part of what motivated this defendant to take this plea in our case here in the Fourth Judicial District," he said. "The death penalty still matters. Cases like this are why the death penalty should exist in the State of Colorado. The victims in this case deserve the ultimate punishment that the law can provide. And they were robbed of that by changes in the law just a few short years ago."
In late October, Club Q management announced plans to reopen in a new location about four miles from its previous home. The club will reopen as The Q, located in the Satellite Hotel in Colorado Springs.
“We will never be able to make those impacted by the shooting at Club Q whole, but we hope this new space can provide community healing,” management said in a press release. “We all have changed in so many ways, but we sincerely hope that the new venue can be a small part of rebuilding the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ community.”
There are no plans to renovate the old building, management said. However, a memorial is planned near the original location.
READ MORE: All Club Q shooting coverage from Denver7
