The FBI was aware of the accused Colorado Springs LGBTQ bar shooter the day before the suspect was arrested for making bomb threats against family members in June 2021, authorities have confirmed.
The 22-year-old who was charged with 305 counts in connection to the Nov. 19 mass killing, Anderson Lee Aldrich, was previously arrested on June 18, 2021, after threatening to kill family members at their home.
But the FBI was aware of Aldrich at least the day prior, and closed out its case just weeks later, the agency told USA TODAY. The Associated Press first reported on the FBI disclosure.
“The FBI received information on June 17, 2021 concerning Anderson Aldrich. As part of the assessment, the FBI coordinated with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, which arrested Aldrich on June 18, 2021. With state charges pending, the FBI closed its assessment on July 15, 2021,” the FBI said in a statement.
Authorities have been criticized for failing to take more preventive measures before the Club Q shooting, such as confiscating weapons from Aldrich, arguing the previous threats were enough to warrant action.
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Authorities responded to the family’s home on June 18, 2021, after Aldrich, whose attorneys say is nonbinary and uses they/them/theirs pronouns, allegedly threatened their mother with a homemade bomb, forcing neighbors to evacuate amid crisis negotiations before surrendering. Aldrich was arrested for menacing and kidnapping, the AP reported.
Records from that arrest were sealed after prosecutors declined to pursue charges, under a law meant to prevent unprosecuted arrests from ruining people’s lives, but the AP reported it verified and viewed an arrest affidavit that included details foreshadowing Aldrich’s future actions.
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Aldrich’s grandparents called 911 that day, saying their grandchild was building a bomb in their basement and had threatened them. According to the sealed records, the AP reported, Aldrich told their grandparents they were planning to “conduct a mass shooting and bombing.”
Media outlets, including USA TODAY, have asked for those records to be unsealed, and during a court appearance Tuesday, Judge Michael McHenry ordered the arrest warrant affidavit in the case to be unsealed by the close of business Wednesday.
Aldrich was charged Tuesday with 305 counts, including for murder and hate crimes, after allegedly entering Club Q in November with an AR-15-style long rifle, killing five and injuring 17 others before being subdued by bar patrons.
Contributing: The Associated Press
