A year before Anderson Lee Aldrich allegedly opened fire at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, killing five people, a judge warned of his plans and said “it’s going to be so bad” if he doesn’t get mental health treatment. Aldrich was arrested in 2021 on charges that he kidnapped his grandparents, stockpiled explosives, and allegedly spoke of plans to become the “next mass killer” before getting in a standoff with SWAT teams. But prosecutors dropped the charges when Aldrich’s relatives refused to testify. According to court documents obtained by the Associated Press, Judge Robin Chittum made ominous comments to Aldrich during a preliminary hearing in the case. “You clearly have been planning for something else,” he said. “It didn’t have to do with your grandma and grandpa.” Just over a year later, on Nov. 19, Aldrich allegedly killed five people and injured 17 others at the Club Q nightclub.
