The suspect accused of gunning down five people at a LGBTQ nightclub appeared to have suffered a host of face and head injuries before being jailed, booking photographs revealed Wednesday.
The Colorado Springs Police Department made the mugshots public Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, made an initial court appearance following the Saturday shooting at Club Q.
Aldrich appeared to have cuts all over the face, a black, swollen left eye and a major bruise behind the left ear, police photos showed.
Aldrich made the virtual appearance from jail before 4th Judicial District Court Judge Charlotte Ankeny.
Aldrich wore a sleeveless protective jail smock during the court hearing, while appearing to be seated in a wheelchair.
The defendant, whom public defenders identified as a nonbinary person who uses they/them pronouns, appeared lethargic, with the head tilted to the right.
Aldrich was barely audible when asked by the judge to confirm identity.
The suspect was released from a hospital and transferred to jail Tuesday, officials said. The accused shooter had to be treated after being disarmed by clubgoers — though the extent of the injuries are not clear.
It’s been nearly four days since the five people were slain at Club Q.
Aldrich has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder and another five counts of allegedly committing those crimes as part of a bias attack.
The suspect is accused of walking into the Colorado Springs LGBTQ club late Saturday night with a high-powered rifle and opening fire.
The carnage could have been worse if not for the fast action of Army veteran Richard Fierro, 45, and another person who jumped on Aldrich to stop the gunfire, officials said.
Ankeny on Wednesday ordered Aldrich held without bail during a brief pretrial hearing in El Paso County.
Ankeny also ordered prosecutors to share the sealed arrest warrant material with Aldrich’s defense lawyers.
“I will release the affidavit to defense counsel and their investigator with a protective order in place that it not be released any further,” she ruled.
The judge set Aldrich’s next court date for Dec. 6 but that might still change, she said, as one of the defendant’s lawyers could be in trial that day.
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