Club Q, the LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs where a gunman opened fire and killed five people, has announced its plans to rebuild and reopen. The club will also offer financial assistance to its former staff, contractors, and those affected by the shooting. “Our goal and intention has always been to return Club Q as a safe space for the Colorado Springs LGBTQIA+ community and will continue to tirelessly work toward that effort,” the club said in a news release. Club Q is expected to reopen next fall.
Club Q has partnered with a local women-owned architecture firm and Colorado Springs to create a tribute to the victims of the shooting as well as rebuilding the club with new security protections. Designs for the rebuild are expected in the next four to six weeks, and the planned tribute will be a permanent memorial to the five victims of the shooting.
The club said it’s working with local, state, and federal agencies to incorporate new security features to have Club Q stand as a model for LGBTQ+ safe spaces in the U.S. Suspected gunman Anderson Lee Aldrich, who is nonbinary, has been charged with more than 300 counts, including murder, attempted murder, and hate crimes. The club has also brought on two victims of the shooting as new staff as a full staff plan is worked out for the venue to reopen.