“You can’t really feel safe anywhere”: LGBTQ+ community looks back on devastating Club Q shooting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Stories continue to trickle out about Club Q's impact on the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs.
The bar has served as a safe haven, a safe space for many. After Saturday's shooting that killed 5 and wounded dozens more, clubgoers say their sense of safety is gone.
"Club Q is a big reason that I am who I am today," Vivian, a performer at Club Q says everyone at the club feels like family. She added that Club Q is one of the few gay bars in the city, and one of, if not the first.
Daniel Aston, a bartender at Club Q is part of that family. His life, and four others, were taken away by the gunman Saturday night.
"Every one of us who knew him will miss him dearly," Vivian said. "The fact that someone would actually do this, hurts me more than I can describe, honestly."
Friends and family are remembering Aston for his energy and infectious smile, and not for what happened to him.
"Daniel was honestly one of the most welcoming people," Vivian added. "He was such a fun bartender as well. He was always making lots of fun drinks. And if you're having a bad day, he's there talking to you, cracking jokes."
Aston's mother told ABC News, "He was our baby and he was our youngest."
The violence towards Aston and the LGBTQ+ community doesn't make sense to the victims and their friends.
"You harmed us in a way that I don't know how we can bounce back from this," one dancer at the club told KRDO.
"The sad thing about today is you can't really feel safe anywhere. You just got to keep going through it," Vivian said.
