A flag with a message to Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump, victims of the mass shooting at Club Q, sits at a memorial outside the club (Picture: AP)
The five victims killed by a gunman in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs have been identified.
At least five people were killed and 25 were injured after a gunman opened fire on a crowd of people at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in the city. The massacre was only stopped when a brave patron was able to hit the shooter with his own weapon.
Police identified the suspect as Anderson Lee Aldrich. He was charged with murder and hate crimes.
The names of the five people killed in the attack have all been identified, and families are beginning to put out statements and remembrances for their lost loved ones.
Daniel Aston, a bartender at Club Q, was the first victim identified in the shooting (Picture: AP)
Daniel Aston, 28, was first identified by his parents, Jeff and Sabrina Aston. Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Aston moved to Colorado Springs to live closer to his parents.
Aston was a bartender at Club Q and a frequent performer. He delighted in entertaining others, and his parents said he would write plays, stage productions, and wear elaborate costumes.
Derrick Rump, a bartender at Club Q, was one of the victims identified in the Colorado Springs shooting (Picture: AFP)
Derrick Rump, 38, was another bartender at Club Q. ‘He found a community of people that he loved really much, and he felt that he could shine there, and he did,’ his sister Julia Kissling told WFMZ 69 News.
Rump was originally from Kutztown, Pennsylvania, where his former high school eulogized him with a memorial: ‘Derrick was a quiet, kind, helpful, cooperative student who loved art and music. He enjoyed the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, math, and was a student who was well thought of by his peers and teachers.’
Ashley Paugh, of La Junta, Colorado, worked with foster children and leaves behind a husband and daughter (Picture: AFP)
Ashley Paugh, 35, is survived by her husband Kurt and daughter Ryleigh.
Paugh’s family is ‘absolutely devastated,’ her husband stated on Monday. Paugh was dedicated to her work for nonprofit Kids Crossing, where she would ‘raise awareness and encourage individuals and families to become foster parents to children in our community.’
While not a member of the LGBTQ community, Kurt said his wife would frequently work with members of the community to find loving homes for foster children.
Tiffany Loving, of Denver, Colorado, was identified as one of the victims in the Club Q shooting (Picture: AP)
Kelly Loving, 40, was visiting Colorado Springs on a weekend trip from her home in Denver.
She was remembered as a role model and ‘like a trans mother’ by her friend, Natalee Skye Bingham. ‘She taught me how it was to be a trans woman and live your life day to day,’ Bingham told the New York Times.
Loving’s sister, Tiffany Loving, said she was close with her sister. ‘She was loving, always trying to help the next person out instead of thinking of herself.’
Raymond Green Vance, of Colorado Springs, was celebrating a friend’s birthday when the shooting occurred (Picture: AP)
Raymond Green Vance, 22, was attending a friend’s birthday celebrations with his girlfriend and her family at Club Q when the gunman opened fire. His girlfriend, Kassy Fierro, broke her knee while she was diving for cover.
‘We are going to miss him and his bright smile so much,’ her father Rich Fierro wrote on Facebook. ‘This cowardly and despicable act of hate has no room in our lives or business.’
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At least five people were killed and 25 were injured after a gunman opened fire on a crowd of people at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in the city.
