Two years after a gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 25 more, several survivors and victims’ families filed a lawsuit this week that alleges the shooting could have been avoided.

El Paso County Commissioners, former El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder, and the founder and co-owners of Club Q are named in the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court District of Colorado.

Survivor Charlene Slaugh was shot five times, including a bullet which zipped into and out of her neck. After many surgeries and physical therapy, she walked on her own into a news conference Tuesday in downtown Denver.

“I’ve come a long way, but emotional scars are much harder to heal,” she said. 

Her brother, James Slaugh, and his boyfriend, Jancarlos Dell Valle, took her to Club Q to get her mind off of a recent break-up. As they were packing up to leave for home, a large man dressed in tactical gear walked through the door and shot them at close range.

Slaugh took a bullet to his right arm and Dell Valle was hit in the leg. Today, Slaugh constantly looks over his shoulder and checks exits just in case because “this is something we carry in countless ways every day.” 

The law firm Romanucci and Blandin filed 14 claims for relief. The lawsuit states that the shooting happened because of negligence by the club’s owners whom plaintiffs say failed to maintain a safe environment and because of public policy failures by officials who failed to implement Colorado’s Red Flag law, which “left the shooter armed and dangerous,” according to the lawsuit.

On Nov. 19, 2022, a gunman walked into the club and opened fire on the crowd of patrons, killing Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, Derrick Rump and Raymond Green.

Green, 22, had never been to Club Q, and was celebrating a birthday there with his longtime girlfriend that night. His mother, Adrianna Vance, said his death “stopped me in my tracks” and left her “shattered and cracked wide open.” 

The two were close and though she feels guilt as a mother, she warned other moms that, despite the huge chasm left by the death of her son, she has come to realize that life has purpose. She inherited Green’s dog, who is now her best friend. 

The complaint obtained by The Denver Gazette states that Club Q founder Matthew Haynes had a security team of five employees, including an armed guard, starting in 2012, but reduced it during the COVID-19 pandemic to one employee and no armed guard.

The complaint alleges negligence created a “dangerous environment” despite the fact that there was an “increased awareness for greater security” at LGBTQ nightclubs, the lawsuit states.

The civil lawsuit contends that patrons of Club Q were left to fend for themselves.

Shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich knew about the vulnerability of the building because he had visited seven times, the lawsuit contends.

In a statement to The Denver Gazette, Haynes said that the pain of this tragedy is something he carries with him every day, but he denied the accusations brought forth in the 70-page lawsuit.

“The accusations against Club Q and myself are false and completely inaccurate and will be rigorously defended,” he wrote in a text message. “The blame for this tragedy does not lie with those who were impacted but with Aldrich, the shooter, and a system that enables easy access to weapons of war.” 

The El Paso County Commissioners are named in the lawsuit for their alleged failure to adopt policies and engaging in conduct that heightened the chance of acts of violence.

In 2019, the commissioners passed Resolution 19-76, billed on its website as “a pro-second amendment resolution,” opposing the Red Flag bill. The resolution was supported by then-El Paso County Sheriff Elder. Attorney Patrick Huber said that despite the fact that numerous citizens protested the measure at a public hearing citing safety concerns, the El Paso commissioners passed the resolution “despite notice that they were doing was wrong,”

Elder is being sued personally for his “failure to enforce Colorado’s Red Flag law despite the fact that he knew the shooter was violent from a June 2021 incident during which Aldrich was arrested after claiming to have a bomb and threatening to use it,” the lawsuit contends.

In arrest records from the 2021 incident, Club Q shooter Aldrich expressed a desire to become “the next mass shooter” and wanted to “go out in a blaze.”

In a video obtained by The Denver Gazette, believed to be a livestream of the 2021 incident, a person believed to be Aldrich can be seen wearing body armor and a helmet, while carrying what appears to be a rifle as that person moves between rooms. What appears to be a handgun on the bed comes into view as the suspect directs profanities at deputies outside the home.

“If they breach, I’m-a (expletive) blow it to holy hell,” the suspect is heard saying about law enforcement. “Go ahead and come on in, boys. Let’s (expletive) see it.”

An El Paso County court later dismissed the bomb threat case against Aldrich because prosecutors were unable to serve subpoenas to family members who were the alleged victims in the matter.

Without testimony from Aldrich’s grandparents, who accused Aldrich of threatening them, the judge in the 2021 case dismissed the charges against Aldrich.

That case was sealed on Aug. 11, 2022, and later unsealed on Dec. 8, 2022.

The gunman pleaded guilty to 74 federal hate crimes and gun charges as part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. The 24-year-old is already serving five life sentences for state murder charges he pleaded guilty to last June, but he pleaded no contest last year to state hate crime charges. Aldrich also received a 190-year sentence without the possibility of parole. He’s in the Wyoming State Penitentiary after being moved earlier this year. 

The lawsuit does not specify damages because those will be determined at trial, according to attorneys.

“The lawsuit is about accountability not only to victims and families, but to prevent future mass shootings,” said attorney Patrick Huber. 

The El Paso County Commissioners did not respond to a request for comment. 

This story was written with the help of Colorado Springs Gazette reporter Breeanna Jent and Colorado Politics reporter Michael Karlik.