COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The suspect accused of the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs will appear in an El Paso County courtroom Monday.
The Associated Press reported that 23-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich is expected to take a plea deal at the arraignment hearing. However, federal and state authorities and defense attorneys declined to comment on a possible resolution of the case.
The plea could bring a life sentence for Aldrich and end the court case just seven months after the shooting, the AP reports.
The suspect faces more than 300 counts, including murder and hate crimes. A possible plea deal would ensure at least a life sentence for the Nov. 19 attack that killed five people and wounded 17 others.
Coverage of the 2022 Club Q shooting
The AP also reported that prosecutors asked victims to prepare for Monday’s hearing by writing victim-impact statements, a sign that a plea deal is in the works.
“I have to take responsibility for what happened,” the 23-year-old suspect told the AP during a jailhouse interview earlier this month.
That interview has many survivors frustrated. Michael Anderson was working as a bartender at Club Q on the night of the November mass shooting and told Denver7 he was enraged to hear what the alleged shooter had to say.
“For [the suspect] to say, you know, 'I can't believe I would do something like this.' Well, it's hard to believe considering the months of planning that went into this coordinated hate attack on Club Q," Anderson said. "To do that whole hour and a-half interview with the AP, only for them to report on my comments to the tape, I'm like, what was the whole point of that interview? I almost feel like it was just a setup for me to get comfortable discussing these topics, only to throw that in and throw a wrench into the whole thing.”
In a statement, the AP said it took "great care" in its reporting.
Survivors of the November attack, some of whom served as grand marshals in Denver's Pride Parade Sunday, are also frustrated with the alleged mismanagement of donated funds.
On Saturday, the Colorado Healing Fund announced the disbursement of $811,400 received for Club Q victims. The funds will be distributed through the organization's community partners to the victims’ families, survivors, and those immediately impacted, CHF said in a news release.
Denver7 will be in the courtroom and will provide full coverage of the events as they happen beginning at 5 a.m. on Denver7 News and throughout the day on Denver7.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
