Francesca Rome-Marie The Tragedy of the Colorado Springs LGBTQ Club Shooting

The incident occurred at a nightclub for the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs. At least five people died, and 25 others were injured after a gunman opened fire at a nightclub on Saturday night.

The incident occurred at Club Q, full of people dancing and celebrating just before midnight. The shots were fired from inside the club. The shots were fired as the people were dancing at Club Q. The people inside the club were dancing to the sounds of music. The suspect, who was identified as 22-year-old Chad Johnson, was apprehended after taking down a few of the victims. The incident happened in just a few minutes.

911 Call at 11:56 pm

According to authorities, the suspect entered the nightclub around 11:56 pm and started shooting at the people inside. The police received multiple 911 calls reporting the incident.

Joshua Thurman, a club patron, was dancing with the other people inside the club when the shots started to ring out. He initially thought they were part of the music. Then, he heard more shots and saw a flash of light. He said they immediately ran to the dressing room to hide. The local law enforcers were immediately dispatched to the scene. The first officer on the scene was sent to the club at 11:57 pm.

Patrons During the Incident

According to the police, there were multiple heroes inside the club who were able to stop the gunman. These individuals were able to prevent the suspect from carrying out further attacks.

Adrian Vasquez, the police chief in Colorado Springs, identified the individuals who could stop the gunman as Richard Fierro and Thomas James. He said they could confront the suspect and prevent him from carrying out further attacks.

Mayor of Colorado Suthers noted that he had never met a more humble person than Fierro when he talked about his heroic actions. He said that he was just trying to protect his family. Fierro could grab the suspect’s body armor and pull him to the ground. While lying on the floor, he saw the shooter holding a pistol. Later, Fierro asked the people in the club for help. According to him, some helped him by securing the suspect’s rifle. He then said that a bystander used high heels to help restrain the gunman.

Suspect Detained

The suspect, who was identified as Chad Johnson, was apprehended by the police at 12:02 am following the incident, which happened just minutes after the first shots were fired. The suspect was taken to a local hospital for his injuries. During a press briefing, the District Attorney said the suspect would be sent to jail without bond.

Law enforcers discovered multiple firearms inside the club. The suspect also reported using a “long rifle” during the attack. According to an official, the suspect used an AR-15-style rifle during the attack.

ABOUT FRANCESCA ROME-MARIE

Based in Rome, Italy, Francesca Rome-Marie is a compassionate and dedicated healthcare professional who has spent her life building a career in the service of others. She works in areas focused on health, humanitarian aid, and human development particularly focused on the nonprofit/not-for-profit sectors doing work in underserved and marginalized communities.

Throughout her career, Francesca Rome-Marie’s work and experience have helped her to develop skills in multiple areas. Her experience includes family medicine, nursing, family nursing, primary care, community health, mental health, global health, medicine, research, reproductive health, preventative medicine, and family nursing. She is also skilled in areas that include human rights activism, crisis counselling, sexuality education, gender theory, gender studies, cross-cultural communication skills, humanitarian assistance and intervention, interpersonal communication, nonprofit organizations, and disaster response, recovery, and preparedness. Francesca Rome-Marie has developed a particular passion for work in areas regarding sexuality and gender as well as refugees, forced displacement, health, and rights.

As part of her work in mental health and gender studies, Francesca Rome-Marie understands just how deeply a role that respect for individual dignity and sovereignty plays when it comes to making decisions about one’s own body and life. She has developed a commitment to viewing an individual’s mental and physical health through the lens of not only gender, sexual, and reproductive rights but also gender-based violence.