Club Q Announces Plans to Reopen
Club Q has announced plans to reopen by the fall of 2023 in a statement posted to their Instagram.
The Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub was the site of a deadly mass shooting in November of last year where 5 people lost their lives and 19 people were injured until Army veteran Richard M. Fierro stopped the gunman with help from U.S. Navy Petty Officer, Second Class, Thomas James, and a heroic trans woman.
Plans for the reopening of Club Q include a collaboration with HB&A, a woman-owned architecture and planning firm based in Colorado Springs. Initial design concepts are expected within 4-6 weeks. One feature that will absolutely be included in the rebuild is a permanent tribute to the five victims: Daniel Aston, Raymond Green Vance, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, and Derrick Rump so that their memory and legacies can be preserved forever.
Additional aspects of the rebuild will include enhanced security measures and screening technology in addition to a full gutting of the building expected to take place by April.
“It was 20 years ago that I fought through a very different time in our country to ensure our community would have a safe place to gather and commune,” said Club Q founder Matthew Haynes, “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…We look forward to being able to gather as one community again.”
The club has also announced its intention to compensate employees and entertainers who have lost wages since the venue’s shutdown with funds generated from the Club Q GoFundMe page and other fundraisers.
In the meantime, the gunman is facing over 300 counts including charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault, and hate crimes all of which could culminate in a life sentence without the possibility of parole. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 22.
