Police identify the five people killed in the Colorado Springs LGBTQ club shooting
The Colorado Springs Police Department released the names of the five people killed in a shooting during a drag show at an LGBTQ club over the weekend.
17 other people suffered gunshot wounds. Our sister station KRDO spoke with a Club Q shooting survivor shot in the back seven times.
The man suspected of opening fire was being held on murder and hate crime charges Monday. Police held a news conference Monday afternoon, sharing the names of the five victims.
We respect all of our community members, including our LGBTQ community. Therefore we will be identifying the victims by how they identified themselves and how their families have loved and identified them.
— Colorado Springs Police Department (@CSPDPIO) November 21, 2022
Below are the names of the five victims.
Daniel Davis Aston, 28 (He/him)
Daniel Aston was a 28-year-old transgender man who worked as a bartender at Club Q. He was also an entertainer known as the "Master of Silly Business"
"He was our baby and he was our youngest," his mother, Sabrina Aston, told ABC News.
AP: ‘Master of Silly Business’ among 5 dead in Colorado shooting
Kelly Loving, 40 (She/her)
Kelly Loving, 40, was a transgender woman.
A close friend, Natalee Skye Bingham -- a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016 -- told ABC News that Kelly just turned 40, and had recently moved to Colorado and was excited to experience the LGBTQ+ community in the area.
She "taught me a lot about my whole transition and is someone I look up to in the community, it's really hitting home it's hurting more and more," Bingham told ABC News.
KRDO: Kelly Loving, 40, identified as victim in Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub mass shooting
Ashley Paugh (She/her)
During a press conference Monday, the Colorado Springs Police Department identified one of the victims as Ashley Paugh.
KRDO received a statement on behalf of Ashley's family made by Kurt Paugh, her husband.
We’re absolutely devastated by the loss of Ashley. She meant everything to this family, and we can’t even begin to understand what it will mean to not have her in our lives.
Ashley was a loving wife – she was my high school sweetheart – and she was just an amazing mother. Her daughter was her whole world, and she was so proud of Ryleigh, who is a championship swimmer. She loved her dad, her sister, and her family; Ashley was a loving aunt, with many nieces and nephews who are devastated by her loss.
She had a huge heart. I know that Ashley cared about so many people. She helped so many people through her work at Kids Crossing, a nonprofit that helps find loving homes for foster children. She would do anything for the kids – traveling all over southeastern Colorado, from Pueblo and Colorado Springs to Fremont County and the Colorado border, working to raise awareness and encourage individuals and families to become foster parents to children in our community. This included working with the LGBTQ community to find welcoming foster placements for children. During the holidays, Ashley organized giving trees and delivered them to businesses so that foster kids could have brighter holidays – and in fact, she was setting up giving trees even last week, canvassing Pueblo and Colorado Springs.
In addition to her family and making a difference in the community, Ashley loved being outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and riding four-wheelers.
We would like to ask that members of the media respect our privacy while we grieve this unbelievable loss; we’re not a family that wishes to be in the spotlight and are not at a place where we can be involved in interviews. This is all the information that we feel comfortable releasing at this time. Please direct any and all media inquiries to our family media liaison, whose information follows below. If we have additional information to share, such as more memories of Ashley or preferences for charitable donations, we will release that information through our family media liaison.
Derrick Rump, 38 (He/him)
"He was a kind loving person who had a heart of gold," David's mother Julia Thames said in a statement. "He was always there for my daughter and myself when we needed him; also his friends from Colorado, which he would say was his family also. He was living his dream and he would have wanted everyone to do the same."
Raymond Green Vance, 22 (He/him)
During a press conference Monday, the Colorado Springs Police Department identified one of the victims as Raymond Green Vance.
We are working to obtain more information on Vance.
Heroes of Club Q
Police also identified two people who intervened during the shooting, saving lives in the process.
Their exact actions are part of the investigation, so we can’t discuss the specifics out of respect for the judicial process, but with their permission, we want to acknowledge their heroic actions. They are Thomas James And Richard Fierro.
— Colorado Springs Police Department (@CSPDPIO) November 21, 2022
According to the New York Times, Fierro is a U.S. Army veteran who said he was at the club watching a drag show with his family. Fierro said he tackled the gunman and tried to hold him down. As Fierro was calling for help, James, a drag queen, ran over and stomped the shooter with their high heels.
