Patron at LGBTQ club where a man shot and killed 5 people says he hid in a dressing room after shots rang out: 'I thought it was just the music'

• A club-goer at Colorado's Club Q told reporters that he reporters he hid in a dressing room, per The Washington Post. 
• A shooter killed 5 people and injured 18 more at the club on Saturday night, police said. 
• Another patron told The New York Times that the club was a "safe space."

A patron at a Colorado LGBTQ club where a shooter killed 5 people Saturday night said he hid in a dressing room as soon as gunshots rang out. 

Joshua Thurman, 34, spoke to reporters on Sunday and said he first thought the gunshots were a part of the music that was playing in the club. Thuman said that his birthday is on Wednesday and he was at Club Q to celebrate, The Washington Post reported. 

"I was here to celebrate and now I got this," Thurman said in a video posted by The Post. 

"I thought it was the music because you know, honestly some music does have that, like sirens," Thurman says in the video.

Thurman said that he was on the dance floor when he "heard about 4 or 5 shots," The New York Times reported.

"At first, I thought it was just the music, and I kept dancing," Thurman said according to The Times. "Then I heard more shots and saw the flash from the muzzle of the gun, and ran to the back, to a dressing room. I was with another customer, and we just locked the door and laid down on the floor."

—Josh Helmuth KRDO (@Jhelmuth) November 20, 2022

 

Five people were killed and another 18 were injured in a shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to police. Police identified a 22-year-old man as the suspect. He is now in custody. 

Colorado Springs Police Department chief Adrian Vasquez said two club-goers confronted the shooter and stopped him, pinning him down until police arrived. The suspect is being treated at a local hospital, according to Public Information Officer Pam Castro.

The club had advertised an all-ages drag brunch on Sunday in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance on its Facebook page. Police have not identified a motive for the attack. Vasquez said at the press conference that the police are considering investigating the shooting as a hate crime, but it is not being investigated as a hate crime at this time. 

Angelo Patino, 18, performed in a drag show at the Club Q on Saturday but left the club, about half an hour before the shooting, according to The Times

Patino told The Times that he was "in shock" after hearing the news of the shooting. "It was my safe space." 

"It hurts me that I could not protect my friends when they needed it," Patino said.