Tiana Nicole Dykes, a lifelong Colorado Springs resident, told CNN she knew people who were killed and seriously injured in the shooting.
Dykes said the onslaught was getting worse. She calls Club Q “a second home filled with select families.”
“I go every other week, if not every week. This space means the world to me. Energy, people, information. It’s an amazing place and this tragedy shouldn’t have happened,” Dex told CNN.
She said the LGBTQ community was deeply disturbed by the mass shooting that left at least five people dead and 25 injured.
“The devastation of a mass shooting in an LGBT+ safe space is unbelievable. There was a sense of disrespect, disbelief and pure shock,” she told CNN. “Nobody thinks it’s going to happen to them, and sometimes it does.
Police said it was too early to determine whether the shooting at Club Q was a hate crime, but investigators will look into that possibility as they continue their investigation.
haven: Tim Curran, a copy editor for CNN’s “Early Rise,” visited Club Q with his boyfriend while visiting family in Colorado Springs.
Curran, who hasn’t been to a club since the pandemic, described Club Q as one of the few safe spaces for the LGBTQ community in a town where they don’t always feel welcome.
“It’s a really warm, welcoming space and definitely a big step up for diversity in Springs,” Curran told CNN. “The Q Club has a really tight-knit community because they’re located in Colorado so far. By far the most conservative big city, there’s a lot of free-flowing homophobia in this city.”
But once a customer walks in — that’s all gone, at least for hours of music and dancing, Curran said. Visitors and regulars can be found every night Wednesday through Sunday, either hanging out at the bar, laughing with friends at the tables, or heading straight to the dance floor.
Club Q, which Curran describes as a “hard-boiled small-town gay bar where everyone knows everyone,” caters to an ethnically diverse crowd — including college students, members of the military and older community members.
Given the lack of LGBTQ spaces for community members in Springs, Curran said Club Q serves as a “welcoming, open and helpful space” by hosting regular events for all ages, such as brunches and festive dinners.