Zürcher Nachrichten - US LGBTQ club shooting suspect is non-binary, had troubled past

EUR -
AED 3.87346
AFN 72.019768
ALL 98.137306
AMD 411.048463
ANG 1.907079
AOA 961.787244
ARS 1053.073897
AUD 1.634746
AWG 1.892991
AZN 1.789764
BAM 1.956507
BBD 2.136462
BDT 126.44567
BGN 1.957194
BHD 0.39751
BIF 3125.065777
BMD 1.054591
BND 1.41862
BOB 7.311537
BRL 6.130759
BSD 1.058087
BTN 88.899409
BWP 14.465568
BYN 3.462734
BYR 20669.981597
BZD 2.13286
CAD 1.487195
CDF 3021.402897
CHF 0.935396
CLF 0.037444
CLP 1033.193557
CNY 7.637876
CNH 7.644087
COP 4667.271299
CRC 538.525144
CUC 1.054591
CUP 27.946659
CVE 110.30484
CZK 25.292286
DJF 188.418947
DKK 7.458731
DOP 63.756655
DZD 140.942895
EGP 52.095521
ERN 15.818863
ETB 128.144874
FJD 2.40234
FKP 0.832407
GBP 0.83588
GEL 2.884324
GGP 0.832407
GHS 16.902865
GIP 0.832407
GMD 74.875631
GNF 9118.985356
GTQ 8.171952
GYD 221.26677
HKD 8.209305
HNL 26.723172
HRK 7.52267
HTG 139.110797
HUF 409.510831
IDR 16730.820946
ILS 3.938069
IMP 0.832407
INR 89.005257
IQD 1386.094059
IRR 44390.363958
ISK 145.090662
JEP 0.832407
JMD 168.050258
JOD 0.747807
JPY 163.297118
KES 136.568903
KGS 91.21861
KHR 4274.868286
KMF 492.045728
KPW 949.131408
KRW 1473.094897
KWD 0.324413
KYD 0.881827
KZT 525.834908
LAK 23250.28732
LBP 94753.073736
LKR 309.124581
LRD 194.686625
LSL 19.249961
LTL 3.113932
LVL 0.637911
LYD 5.167891
MAD 10.54866
MDL 19.225853
MGA 4921.987751
MKD 61.518719
MMK 3425.270099
MNT 3583.499814
MOP 8.484524
MRU 42.241259
MUR 49.618772
MVR 16.293082
MWK 1834.849706
MXN 21.528334
MYR 4.726657
MZN 67.386626
NAD 19.250235
NGN 1790.166979
NIO 38.937017
NOK 11.734813
NPR 142.244097
NZD 1.805389
OMR 0.406042
PAB 1.058067
PEN 4.016851
PGK 4.254759
PHP 61.874928
PKR 293.788983
PLN 4.337316
PYG 8256.021058
QAR 3.857293
RON 4.976195
RSD 116.99739
RUB 105.326798
RWF 1453.307591
SAR 3.958237
SBD 8.84846
SCR 14.435138
SDG 634.339422
SEK 11.603047
SGD 1.417856
SHP 0.832407
SLE 23.827536
SLL 22114.248827
SOS 604.752832
SRD 37.243403
STD 21827.902374
SVC 9.258432
SYP 2649.691119
SZL 19.243498
THB 36.762511
TJS 11.27926
TMT 3.701614
TND 3.338306
TOP 2.469955
TRY 36.389499
TTD 7.184663
TWD 34.315123
TZS 2805.212176
UAH 43.707551
UGX 3883.347355
USD 1.054591
UYU 45.405538
UZS 13543.891792
VES 48.255199
VND 26799.791191
VUV 125.203151
WST 2.943986
XAF 656.225129
XAG 0.034427
XAU 0.000408
XCD 2.850085
XDR 0.797107
XOF 656.197117
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.515906
ZAR 19.148481
ZMK 9492.587769
ZMW 29.050355
ZWL 339.577839
  • RBGPF

    61.8400

    61.84

    +100%

  • NGG

    0.3800

    62.75

    +0.61%

  • RELX

    -1.5000

    44.45

    -3.37%

  • BTI

    0.9000

    36.39

    +2.47%

  • VOD

    0.0900

    8.77

    +1.03%

  • AZN

    -1.8100

    63.23

    -2.86%

  • GSK

    -0.6509

    33.35

    -1.95%

  • RIO

    0.5500

    60.98

    +0.9%

  • RYCEF

    0.0400

    6.82

    +0.59%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    24.57

    +0.08%

  • SCS

    -0.0400

    13.23

    -0.3%

  • BP

    -0.0700

    28.98

    -0.24%

  • BCC

    -0.2600

    140.09

    -0.19%

  • BCE

    -0.0200

    26.82

    -0.07%

  • JRI

    0.0235

    13.1

    +0.18%

  • CMSD

    0.0822

    24.44

    +0.34%

US LGBTQ club shooting suspect is non-binary, had troubled past
US LGBTQ club shooting suspect is non-binary, had troubled past / Photo: Chet Strange - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

US LGBTQ club shooting suspect is non-binary, had troubled past

Lawyers for the 22-year-old accused of murdering five people at a Colorado LGBTQ club said their client is non-binary ahead of an initial court appearance Wednesday, as details emerged of a chaotic past including family breakdown and a name change.

Text size:

At least 18 others were hurt when a gun-wielding attacker stormed Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday night, opening fire on customers and staff.

The assault, which ended when a US Army veteran pounced on the attacker, shattered a rare safe haven for the city's tight-knit LGBTQ community.

On Wednesday, suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich appeared by video link at a court hearing, wearing orange jail clothes.

No charges were levied, and no pleas entered.

Aldrich, who remained seated throughout, was flanked by two public defenders, who said in court documents filed Tuesday that the suspect identifies as nonbinary, and uses they/them pronouns.

The defendant spoke only to confirm their name and that they had been shown a video outlining their rights, when questioned by county court judge Charlotte Ankeny.

Aldrich has not been formally charged, but is being held without bond on suspicion of murder. Under Colorado's judicial system, formal charges are not expected for another 10 days.

A picture of Aldrich's messy life began to emerge Wednesday, with a childhood marked by instability and with parents who suffered from substance abuse problems.

- Instability -

US media reported that Aldrich was born Nicholas Brink to parents who had separated by the time the child turned two.

Nicholas became Anderson Lee Aldrich in a legal name change during teenage years spent in Texas.

By then, The New York Times reported -- citing court records -- Aldrich's father, Aaron Franklin Brink, had logged several arrests in California in connection with drug and driving offenses.

Brink, a conservative Republican who said he has worked as a porn actor, told CBS in San Diego that his ex-wife, Laura Voepel, informed him several years ago that their child had died.

He continued to believe this until a phone call with Aldrich a few months ago, which he said degenerated into an argument and threats by his child to assault Brink.

Brink, who said he now coaches mixed martial arts, told CBS he had "praised" Aldrich for violent behavior as a child.

"I told him it works. It is instant and you'll get immediate results," the father said.

Excerpts of the interview posted online showed Brink -- who has previously appeared on a reality TV show about his drug addiction -- confused about the location of his child's alleged crime.

"They started telling me about the incident, a shooting involving multiple people," Brink said of a phone call he received Sunday from Aldrich's defense attorney.

"You know Mormons don’t do gay. We don’t do gay. There’s no gays in the Mormon church. We don’t do gay," Brink said about finding out the shooting was at an LGBTQ bar.

He said he was sorry for his child's alleged actions, and that there is "no excuse for going and killing people."

The New York Times said Voepel, Aldrich's mother, had also had run-ins with California law enforcement, including for public drunkenness and in connection with possession of a controlled substance.

In 2012, she was given five years' probation in Texas for setting fire to a bed in the psychiatric ward to which she had been admitted, according to court records seen by the Times.

Aldrich is the grandchild of California state Congressman Randy Voepel, the Los Angeles Times and other media said.

Wednesday's brief hearing came just days after the brutal attack in Club Q, with the small Rocky Mountain city of half a million people still reeling.

A bank of flowers and teddy bears formed a makeshift memorial outside the club, while on Monday night a candlelit vigil was held in a city center park.

But along with the mourning, there has also been praise for the bravery and quick-thinking of military veteran Richard Fierro, who was visiting the club with his wife.

Fierro told reporters he had snatched the attacker's pistol.

"I don't know exactly what I did, I just went into combat mode," he said. "I just know I have to kill this guy before he kills us.

"I grabbed the gun out of his hand and just started hitting him in the head, over and over," Fierro told The New York Times.

Booking photos issued by police on Wednesday show injuries to Aldrich's head, face and neck.

A tentative new court appearance for Aldrich has been scheduled for December 6.

E.Leuenberger--NZN