Eleven months have passed since the a gunman opened fire on Club Q in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 17 more. Club Q was an LGBTQ+ nightclub, and the suspect was arrested with over 300 criminal counts, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and bias-motivated crimes. In June, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
Club Q was supposed to open again in its same location with an onsite memorial but plans have been updated. Yesterday, Club Q’s management announced that the venue would be relocating four miles away from its original location, within the Satellite Hotel in Colorado Springs.
“We fully recognize that Club Q and this community has never been a building or location,” management said in a statement according to NBC. “It’s composed of tens of thousands of people of all walks of life coming together to celebrate love and acceptance. The Club Q community has continued to carry on with strength and resilience, even while the doors have remained closed.”
Although Club Q will not operate at its original location, an onsite memorial is still in the works. Tuesday’s statement also addressed the holdup in creating a the memorial at the original location, citing “many frustrating delays” in creating the onsite memorial to the five victims — Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Derrick Rum. The statement said that they “are in the final approval process and intend to begin construction very soon.”
The statement also shared that the new venue will be “managed and operated by survivors of the shooting” and indicated that anyone who used to work at Club Q who would like to rejoin the staff will be given “the opportunity to join us at The Q as we build a team.” The opening date for the new Club Q is unknown.
“We will never be able to make those impacted by the shooting at Club Q whole, but we hope this new space can provide community healing,” Club Q management continued in Tuesday’s statement. “We all have changed so many ways, but we sincerely hope that the new venue can be a small part of rebuilding the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ community.”
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