By G9ija
No fewer than five people have been killed in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in the US city of Colorado Springs.
The police on Sunday confirmed that at least 18 people were also left wounded following the deadly incident.
In a statement by the spokesperson of the Colorado Springs Police Department, Pamela Castro, the police said, “It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we had a shooting at a local club this evening.
“We have 18 injured and five deceased. That number is subject to change as the investigation continues,” she added.
Castro said police received an emergency call just before midnight on Saturday (0657 GMT Sunday), saying that there was an active shooting at a local club known as Club Q.
She added that medical teams and officers responded and “they did locate one individual who we believe to be the suspect inside.”
Meanwhile, in its reaction to the incident, Club Q stated, “is devastated by the senseless attack on our community.”
“We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack,” the club posted on its Facebook page Sunday.
The club had posted earlier on Saturday about an LGBTQ event starting at 8 pm.
The post reads, “We’re celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance with a variety of gender identities and performance styles.”
The Police Department said there would be an 8:00 am news conference on the shooting.
Recall that on June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire inside the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50 in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
The US President, Joe Biden marked the fifth anniversary of the Orlando shooting last year, taking the rare step of saying he would designate the club as a national memorial.
The US Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people are wounded or killed.