OREGON, USA — Oregon Governor Kate Brown was among multiple state leaders who took to social media to offer condolences and condemn Saturday's deadly shooting at an LGBTQIA+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Police arrested a 22-year-old man suspected of opening fire at Club Q, killing five people and injuring 25 others. Anderson Lee Aldrich is being held on suspicion of five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, records show.
"Waking up to news of another mass shooting — let alone as an act of hate targeting the LGBTQ+ community — is maddening and devastating," Brown wrote on Sunday. "It’s hard to find the words to address this kind of atrocity, but I’m grateful for the heroic patrons and first responders who stepped in to help."
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said that he was 'heartbroken' over news of the shooting and called on leaders to make changes.
"I’m heartbroken and angered, but driven to make changes that will save lives. Elected officials need to stop stoking hate and division," Merkley wrote on Twitter.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden also reacted to the shooting on Twitter. He asked Americans to honor those killed and injured by denouncing hate against the LGBTQ+ community.
"In the face of yet another mass shooting targeting an LGBTQ+ club, the time is now for all Americans to honor the memories of those killed & injured in this attack by recommitting to stand with the LGBTQ+ community and to denounce bigotry & hate," Wyden wrote.
Both Oregon House and Senate Democrats came out with a statement on Twitter addressing the tragic incident. As of Monday afternoon, no statement has come from the Oregon House or Senate Republicans.
There have been several high-profile mass shootings in Colorado including the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting and the 2015 Planned Parenthood shooting.
Saturday's shooting in Colorado took place a few hours before Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday. The attack reminded many of the 2016 mass shooting at the LGBTQIA+ Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida that killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a targeted hate crime act.
Read more reactions from the following elected officials below:
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