Club Q mass shooting survivors, nightclub co-owner testify in front of Congress
WASHINGTON D.C. (KRDO) -- Two survivors of a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub and a co-owner of the business testified in front of Congress Wednesday morning in Washington D.C.
Club Q co-owner Matthew Haynes and survivors Michael Anderson and James Slaugh shared their first-hand experience with the attack that left five people dead and dozens injured.
They spoke in front of the House Committee on Oversight Reform, made up of a group of bipartisan lawmakers, to detail what they want to be done about a rise in violent attacks against the LGBTQ+ community.
Anderson said Nov. 19 was the most terrifying night of his life. He was bartending when a shooter walked into the nightclub and opened fire. While he hid from the gunshots, he prayed the violence would end and that he'd still be alive.
"I saw my friend on the floor bleeding out knowing there was little to no chance of surviving that bullet wound."
Slaugh, a patron of Club Q, said he was leaving the nightclub with his boyfriend when the shooting started. Slaugh was shot along with his boyfriend. After getting hit, Slaugh noticed his sister who was also at the club had been shot and was bleeding out.
"Several pops rang out and I immediately felt a searing pain in my arm. I fell over on the ground knowing I had been shot in my right arm. It wasn't working, but I was able to call 911. I saw everyone on the ground, glass pains shattered, and blood running from my arm and chest where shrapnel had come through. John Carlos (Slaugh's boyfriend) was next to me, shot in the leg but thankfully alive."
That's when Slaugh said he realized to his horror that his sister, who was also at the club, had also been shot.
"She had been shot over five times," Slaugh said. "I called out to her and I heard no response. I don't want to imagine what would have happened had the shooter not been taken down that night."
Haynes, a co-owner of the nightclub, read lawmakers letters and messages he's received since the mass shooting. According to Haynes, the letters are filled with hateful messages, largely sent on social media.
Some messages praised the shooter and others even went as far as to say more people should've been murdered.
Watch the committee hearing below:
Watch each individual testimony below:
Survivor Michael Anderson's Testimony: The Rise of Anti-LGBTQI+ Extremism and Violence in the U.S.
Survivor James Slaugh's Testimony:
Club Q co-owner Matthew Haynes' Testimony:
