Shooting of gay club

The attacker killed five people and left 17 others with injuries at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday night. Officials named the "heroes" who halted the attack as Richard Fierro and Thomas James, without detailing their actions. Mr Fierro provided his account of events, saying he tackled the suspect, took the weapon and hit him with it.

It is not clear if Mr James is the performer Mr Fierro says then stepped in to help. Family members say Aston and Rump were both bartenders at Club Q. The suspect, named by police as year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, is in police custody in hospital. The gunman was stopped by a year US Army veteran who was attending a performance at the club with his wife and daughter.

Speaking to reporters on Monday evening, Richard Fierro said his combat training kicked in as he pounced on the gunman, pulling him to the floor by his body armour. Got him. I'm thinking, 'I gotta kill this guy.

Club Q shooter sentenced to life in prison for attack on gay nightclub

He's gonna kill my kid. He's gonna kill my wife'," said the Iraq and Afghanistan veteran. Go to the fire. Stop the action. Stop the activity. Don't let no-one get hurt. The local brewery owner said he and his shooting had dropped to the club as the bullets began to fly. He described seeing the gunman move in the direction of a patio where other club-goers had fled, before charging at him.

He said the man dropped his rifle as he fell. They began wrestling on the ground. Mr Fierro said he snatched the attacker's pistol from him and used it to beat him. I'm a big dude and this guy was bigger," Mr Fierro said. He told reporters that he urged a performer from the club to kick the attacker in the head.

Gay Fierro said one of the dead included his daughter's boyfriend, year-old Raymond Vance. Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers hailed the bystanders' "incredible act of heroism". He said that he had spoken to Mr Fierro on Monday, telling reporters: "I have never encountered a person who engaged in such heroic actions that was so humble about it.

Praise also came from the governor of Colorado, as well as the owner of the club - who said the "heroes" had probably saved lives. Police are looking into who owned the rifle allegedly used in the shooting, as well as a handgun the suspect was carrying at the time of his arrest.

The investigation will determine whether the shooting - which came on the eve of Sunday's Transgender Day of Remembrance - was a hate crime, and if the suspect acted alone.