Colorado attack hero: ‘Bullies aren’t invincible’

A US Navy officer who helped to stop a mass shooting at a gay club in Colorado Springs has said he “simply wanted to save the family I found”.

Thomas James, a second class petty officer, pushed a rifle out of the shooter’s reach while army veteran Richard Fierro repeatedly struck the attacker with their own handgun, officials have said.

Five people died and 18 were injured in the attack at Club Q on 19 November.

Mr James issued a statement on Sunday.

“If I had my way, I would shield everyone I could from the nonsensical acts of hate in the world, but I am only one person,” the navy officer said in his first public comments since the attack.

“Thankfully, we are family, and family looks after one another.”

He noted the LGBT community had “come a long way from Stonewall” – the iconic gay club in New York which was at the centre of the US gay rights movement in the 1960s and 70s – adding: “Bullies aren’t invincible.”

Mr James, who is recovering in hospital from injuries he sustained during the attack, said his thoughts were with those killed and hurt.

“To the youth, I say be brave,” he concluded. “Your family is out there. You are loved and valued. So when you come out of the closet, come out swinging.”

Mr Fierro, who was attending a performance at the club with his wife and daughter, said his military training kicked in when the shooting started.

Last week he described how he took down the assailant with the help of Mr James and a club performer, who stomped on the attacker’s face with her high heels.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers hailed their “incredible act of heroism”, saying they stopped the shooting from being even worse.

Police have identified the victims of the Club Q attack as bartenders Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump, as well as Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Raymond Vance.

The suspect, named by police as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, who identifies as non-binary, is in police custody in hospital.

During a brief court appearance via video link last week, they sat slumped in a chair, had slurred speech and visible bruising on their face and neck, journalists in the court reported.

The motive for the shooting is still under investigation, but authorities say the suspect faces preliminary charges of murder and hate crime charges.