The attacker who killed five people at an LGBT nightclub in Colorado last year has pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, opened fire with an assault rifle at Club Q in Colorado Springs on 19 November 2022.

The shooting was stopped by club-goers, who subdued the attacker until police arrived.

The five victims ranged in age from 22 to 40. Another 17 were left with gunshot wounds.

The slain victims were Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Raymond Vance.

As part of a plea deal, Aldrich – who identifies as non-binary and asked in court on Monday to be identified by the gender-neutral honorific Mx – will serve the rest of their life in prison.

They pleaded “no contest” to charges of bias-motivated crimes.

Six minutes of horror

In court, they acknowledged that they “intentionally and after deliberation” caused the death of the victims, and took “substantial steps” to commit murder in the case of those injured.

Victims of some of the family members addressed the court after the plea.

Among them was Sabrina Aston, the mother of Daniel Aston, who was one of Club Q’s bartenders the night of the shooting.

“I will never forgive you for the heinous crime,” she said.

Adriana Vance, the mother of Raymond Vance, said Aldrich “doesn’t deserve to go on”.

“What matters now is that he never sees the sunrise or the sunset,” she added.

Ashley Paugh’s father Curt asked the court: “Why isn’t the punishment harsher?”

“He gets to breathe air, eat three meals a day,” he said, adding that Aldrich should “rot in loneliness and hate”.

Aldrich showed no emotion as the families made statements.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press news agency, Aldrich said they felt a need to “ take responsibility for what happened”. They also claimed they were “on a very large plethora of drugs” at the time.

When asked by the judge on Monday, Aldrich said they remain on a variety of medication, including mood stabilisers and anti-psychotic drugs.

Aldrich’s version of the event has been heavily disputed by family members and prosecutors, who have noted that evidence suggests months of planning and premeditation.

“No-one has sympathy for him,” former Club Q bartender Michael Anderson told the Associated Press.

“This community has to live with what happened, with collective trauma, with PTSD, trying to grieve the loss of our friends.”

The shooting – which lasted six minutes – was ended after Richard Fierro, a 15-year US Army veteran, tackled the attacker.

As Mr Fierro and Aldrich wrestled on the ground, a drag show performer pummelled Aldrich with a high-heel shoe.

In court on Monday, Mr Fierro referred to Mr Aldrich as a “terrorist” who “brought combat” to innocent people at Club Q.

“I had more respect for the adversaries I fought overseas than I do for this individual,” he said. “I hope the words I yelled into the back of your head that night echo for the rest of your life.”

Aldrich had previously been arrested in Colorado Springs in June 2021 after threatening to detonate a bomb and harm their mother, court documents show.

The charges were dropped despite relatives warning the judge in that case that Aldrich remained a danger to the public. (BBC: Text, Excluding Headline)

Update news