Dad of gay bar shooter

The father of Anderson Lee Aldrich — the suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado nightclub — spewed anti-gay comments in a rambling, incoherent explanation of his relationship with his estranged son. The dad bizarrely claimed during an interview with CBS 8- San Diego that his first concern upon learning his son allegedly killed five at an LGBT establishment was whether his child was homosexual.

A CBS 8 reporter explained to Brink that Aldrich is accused of orchestrating a mass shooting at a gay bar, killing five people and wounding many more. Their sexuality is unknown. He apologized to the families of the victims — saying regardless of politics, precious human lives were lost. He and their mother divorced when Aldrich was just a baby.

Brink — who said he has permanent damage from a past meth addiction as well as head trauma from a career as an MMA fighter — had not spoken to his child in six months and prior to that believed they had died of suicide six years ago, he said. Six months ago, Brink said Aldrich called him on the phone, which was how he learned they were still alive.

He said the call ended in an argument. Aldrich is accused of shooting up Club Q just before midnight Saturday, killing five and wounding more than a dozen others before two patrons took them down. They appeared dazed, bruised and bloodied in court Wednesday — apparently from the actions of the two people called heroes, who held them down until police arrived.

Club Q suspect's estranged father reacts to deadly shooting

Authorities have not released a potential motive in the horrific attack, but are expected to file hate crime charges as well as murder charges against Aldrich. Hate-crime charges would mean prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to prove that the suspect targeted their victims based on a bias like their sexual or gender identities.

Previous 1 of 7. Daniel Aston, 28, was shot dead while bartending at Club Q. Derrick Rump, 38, was shot dead while bartending at Club Q. Raymond Green, 22, was killed while attending the club with his girlfriend and her family. Ashley Paugh, 35, was among the victims and leaves behind a daughter.

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