Club Q Colorado shooting: Tributes begin to pour in for victims

Details are still emerging about the deadly shooting at a gay club in the US state of Colorado on Saturday night.

Club Q was known as a safe haven for LGBT community in Colorado Springs, a feeling shattered when a gunman entered the nightclub and opened fire, killing five people and injuring about two dozen more.

Two people, including one patron, acted quickly, subduing the shooter before authorities arrived, police have said. The gunman is now in police custody.

Authorities have yet to publicly identify all the victims but the families and friends of some have begun to speak about those lost.

Among them is Daniel Davis Aston, who was a bartender at Club Q, a supervisor who helped create the nightclub’s “positive culture”, his colleague Michael Anderson told CNN.

Daniel’s mother, Sabrina Aston, told the Denver Post that her 28-year-old son was in a good place in his life after struggling with his identity during his adolescence, having found peace after transitioning in college.

The death of her youngest child “was unbelievable”, and he had much more to give to the world, she said.

Friends have said Daniel loved to perform, including in drag shows.

“He never knew a stranger, from the time he was little,” his mother said. “He always said, ‘I’m shy,’ but he wasn’t. He wrote poetry, he loved to dress up, he got into drama in high school. He’s an entertainer. That’s what he really loves.”

She hopes his death will not be in vain, and will help raise awareness about the issues faced by the trans community.

Aston was bartending at Club Q that night with Derrick Rump, 38, who has also been identified as one of those killed.

Friends told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that he was a staple at Club Q and a warm presence behind the bar – someone who always kept a smile and enjoyed a joke.

“Loving, supportive, with a heavy hand in his drink pouring, and just a really good listener and would not be afraid to tell you when you were wrong instead of telling you what you wanted to hear and that was really valuable,” his friend Anthony Jaramillo told CBS.

A third victim who has been identified is patron Kelly Loving, 40, described by friends and family to the New York Times as tough but loving.

Her sister Tiffany told the New York Times that she was informed by the FBI that she was among those killed.

“She was loving, always trying to help the next person out instead of thinking of herself. She just was a caring person,” she told the newspaper. “I was really close with her.”