Colorado Springs nightclub Club Q announces plan to reopen after deadly mass shooting shuttered the LGBTQ ‘safe space’
By Elizabeth Wolfe and Amy Simonson, CNN
Almost three months after Colorado Springs nightclub Club Q was the site of a deadly mass shooting, the venue has announced plans to reopen this year and restore its status as a beloved gathering place for LGBTQ residents.
“Our goal and intention has always been to return Club Q as a safe space for the Colorado Springs LGBTQIA+ community and (we) will continue to tirelessly work toward that effort,” a statement posted to the venue’s Instagram account Monday reads.
Club Q’s management expects to reopen by the fall with enhanced security measures and a permanent tribute to the five people who were fatally shot, the statement said.
Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Derrick Rump were killed in the November 19 shooting, and at least 19 others were injured, police have said. A 22-year-old suspect is facing more than 300 counts, including charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault and hate crimes.
Among those killed were two club employees, a mother who worked at a nonprofit for foster children and a first-time visitor celebrating a birthday with loved ones.
Their memories “will be carried forward and honored forever, while we work to make Club Q a forever home for our LGBTQIA+ community,” the nightclub’s statement reads.
To do that, the club is collaborating with the city as well as the local, woman-owned architecture firm HB&A to rebuild the venue, the statement reads. Within the next four to six weeks, the club hopes to share design concepts for the building’s transformation, which will require its interior to be gutted, according to the statement.
For years the only LGBTQ club in the city, Club Q has provided a critical community space for LGBTQ residents of Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas. A patron, Tiana Nicole Dykesm described it as “a second home full of chosen family.”
“It has been two decades now that we have kept the doors open as a place where everyone, regardless of gender identity or who they love, had somewhere to belong,” club owner Matthew Hayes said in the statement.
The management team also announced efforts to begin compensating Club Q employees and other entertainment contractors for wages lost while the venue has been shuttered.
The funds will come from the club’s GoFundMe and other fundraisers and will be distributed starting Friday, the statement reads.
Two victims of the shooting have also been hired as administrative staff members, it said, and management plans to add at least one more staff position in the next month to help with the rebuild and community relations.
“To everyone who has asked me to reopen the club, I assure you we are working very hard to bring our home back. We look forward to being able to gather as one community again,” Haynes said.
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