Victims called the Colorado Springs mass shooter a “monster” who hunted down LGBTQ+ patrons in a calculated attack last year that killed five people. Surviving victims and family members of those slain spoke during an emotional sentencing hearing Monday after shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich pleaded guilty to murder and did not contest two hate crime charges. Monday’s plea by Aldrich comes just seven months after the shooting and spares victim’s families and survivors a long and potentially painful trial. The attack at Club Q came over a year after Aldrich had been arrested for threatening their grandparents and vowing to become “the next mass killer.” But, charges were ultimately dropped in that case.
