The person accused of entering a Colorado gay nightclub clad in body armour and opening fire with an AR-15-style rifle, killing five people and wounding several others, pleaded guilty to murder charges on Monday at an arraignment.
Monday’s plea by Anderson Lee Aldrich comes just seven months after the shooting and spares victims’ families and survivors a long and potentially painful trial. The plea entered during a court hearing follows a series of jailhouse phone calls from Aldrich to The Associated Press expressing remorse and the intention to face the consequences for the shooting.
Aldrich pleaded guilty to five counts of murder. The defendant faces life in prison on the murder charges under the plea agreement.
The agreement also calls for Aldrich to plead guilty to 46 counts of attempted murder and two counts of bias-motivated crime.
Several survivors told the AP about a planned plea agreement after being approached about Aldrich’s comments. They said prosecutors had notified them that Aldrich — who is non-binary and uses they and them pronouns — will plead guilty to charges that would ensure a sentence of life behind bars.
Aldrich was originally charged with more than 300 state counts, including murder and hate crimes.
The U.S. Justice Department is considering pursuing federal hate crime charges, according to a senior law enforcement official familiar with the matter who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case.
The attack at Club Q came more than a year after Aldrich had been arrested for threatening their grandparents and vowing to become “the next mass killer.” But charges were ultimately dropped in that case.
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