Now.
New details just released
after a deadly mass
shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub
in Colorado.
Police finished a news conference
moments ago
where they identified the suspect
who is now in custody.
At least five people were killed,
another 18 were injured.
The shooting happened
just before midnight at Club Q
in Colorado Springs.
They say two people inside the club
fought to stop the carnage.
Initial evidence and interviews
indicate that the suspect entered club
club Q
and immediately began
shooting at people inside
as he moved further into the club
while the suspect was inside of the club.
At least two heroic
people inside the club
confronted and fought with the suspect
and were able to stop the suspect
from continuing to kill them, harm others
without them.
A great deal of thanks.
CNN's Anadio Romero
is following all the latest developments.
All right.
What more are police
saying at this point?
Well, Paula,
we learn so much in that
press conference,
but still so many unanswered questions.
So let's start first with the victims.
We know that at this point
there are five people who were killed
18 others injured.
But that number could change,
could fluctuate over the rest of today
and over the next couple of days.
We know that
so many people are still within the ICU.
Three different hospitals
right now
are treating some of those patients
have treated some and released them.
Others still remain in the ICU
with critical injuries.
And we know that they were transported
by ambulance, by police patrol cars.
And some people self transported.
They took themselves to the hospital.
So that's why that number
has fluctuated
in the overnight morning hours
and could change throughout the day.
Now, family
members are still being notified
about those who have been impacted,
those injured and those killed.
That happens first
before their names
will be released to the public.
So we do not know the names
of any of the victims at this point.
Now, let's talk about the suspect.
His name was released
at this press conference.
22 year old Anderson Leigh Ulrich.
That's who police say is the suspect.
And witnesses say
that he entered that nightclub
Q A club, Q in Colorado Springs
and immediately opened fire.
And that's when we learned,
as you
just heard, that
at least two people inside of the club
were able to tackle him,
disarm him
before police arrived
to stop the shooting from happening
before more people were injured.
Now, we're still trying to figure out
that suspect's motive.
We asked for police,
different media of people asked
the police during that press conference
what was the motive.
If you look at the statement
that was released
by Club Q on their Facebook page,
very clearly
they believe that they were targeted
because this is an LGBTQ community,
a nightclub
they were supposed to be
celebrating today,
Transgender Remembrance Day
having a drag show as well.
That's not happening.
Not happening.
That celebration
instead in the process
of mourning right now.
And they also called this a hate attack.
So I want you to hear
from the district
attorney of this area
as he explains and answers
the question, will
this be treated as a hate crime
or investigated as a hate crime?
Take a listen.
This will
be investigated and
is being investigated in that lens.
But I can tell you that the current
bias motivated crime statute
in the state of Colorado
provides some elevation,
but will not elevate
beyond what will likely be charges
in this case,
which will likely include
first degree murder,
extreme indifference, murder,
those types of charges,
which are all class one, felony
murder charges.
So the bias motivated crime statute
doesn't really
come into play in this case
because it doesn't elevated
beyond what we have as the very top
level charges.
And, Paula,
this is something that we see
in other cases as well, where hate
crime charge is not as high up
as a priority or severity of a charge
as, let's say,
a first degree murder charge.
And you heard the district attorney
there say that
that may not be included in their charges
because there are more
severe charges at hand.
But it does mean something
to the community,
to the families,
when hate crimes are called hate crimes
and investigated as such.
But again,
that's something that we'll have to wait
and see how things play out.
All right.
Nadia Romero,
thank you so much
for that great reporting.
And now to give us some more
insight, former
NYPD detective
and law enforcement consultant Tom Verni.
All right.
Tom, thank you so much for joining us.
Police say this was a 22 year
old suspect.
He's a long rifle.
He continued to move through the club
during the shooting.
What does that tell you?
Good morning, Paula.
And my sincere condolences to the family
and friends of those killed.
And my thoughts are with those
that are injured, hoping
that to make a full recovery
You know, look, it's
another sad day in America
where we have
someone who is clearly troubled,
who has access to a firearm
and then goes out
and commits heinous acts such as this.
This is not uncommon from what we've seen
in prior mass shootings.
You know,
this particular shooting
brings up
those thoughts of the Pulse
nightclub shooting in Florida
about six years ago.
And, you know,
we have these these individuals,
again, with firearms that come in
and for whatever reason,
which at this point,
the motive is still clearly unknown,
that, you know,
they went to commit all kinds of carnage
thankfully.
And, you know, we
had some clubgoers that had the mindset
and the wherewithal
to kind of stop
and think about you know,
not think about their own
personal safety.
And to interrupt.
This is horrific act and take action.
And thank God for that
because, you know,
this could have been a lot worse
It's incredibly brave.
Now, police
are crediting those two heroes
for fighting
with fighting the shooter
and putting an end to the bloodshed.
Is this really what it takes
if you don't want to see
this kind of mass carnage, do?
Do we now need to rely
on civilians to stop this
You know, unfortunately,
that's what it comes down to
in the security world.
You know, particularly
this is usually relegated more towards
like schools
where we teach the run
hide fight methodology.
So if an active gunman,
if there's an active shooter
that comes in,
you would ideally run away
from the shooter.
You would attempt to hide
from the shooter
until authorities arrive.
But if confronted directly
and there's nowhere else to go, then your
your next best option is to try to fight
this shooter, to disarm
or disable them temporarily
to to interrupt their ability
to continue shooting.
And that and upon itself may save,
you know, more injuries and more lives
from being lost.
So based on what we know right now,
what questions
do you still have
as a law enforcement expert?
What questions
would you be asking right now
to figure out
exactly what happened here and why
Well, the law enforcement authorities
there, I'm
sure I'm sure there are local
and potentially state authorities
and maybe even the FBI at
some point will get involved to,
you know,
find out who this who this character is,
what is this problem.
But, you know, what does
set him off
and where it made him feel the need to,
you know, grab a firearm
and walk into a crowded nightclub
on a Saturday night
and just start
indiscriminately shooting people,
you know,
so they're going to be coming over
any social media that he might have
I'm sure they're going to do a thorough
background check
as to, you know, everyone
that knows him, wherever he came from
to find out what his deal is
and whether or not he legally had
the ability
to have access to that firearm or not
and whether
he legally obtained that firearm.
And that doesn't make a difference
at this point
because the act itself
is just so unbelievably heinous
that it just,
you know, boggles
the mind as to what would make someone,
you know,
think that that was such a good idea
to do on a Saturday night.
Of course,
Tom Verni,
thank you so much for joining us.
We appreciate your analysis.
Sure. Anytime.