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The club was the only LGBTQ+ safe space in Colorado Springs, a customer noted to a local TV station.
A man who was in Club Q in Colorado Springs -- to celebrate his birthday -- when a gunman entered Saturday night has shared his story with a local TV station.
The man, Joshua, said he was on the dance floor when he heard the shots and initially thought the sound was part of the music. "When I realized what was going on, I ran to the dressing room immediately," he told station KRDO. Another customer and a drag performer hunkered down with him there. "I made them lock the doors and we got down on the ground and cut off the lights," Joshua said.
"We heard everything," he said. "We heard more shots fired. We heard the assailant being beat up by someone I assume had tackled him. We heard the police come in. We heard them yelling at him. We heard them saying check certain people because they're critical."
\u201cJoshua was inside Club Q when the gunman entered. He ran and hid. Heard the gunman being \u201cbeat up.\u201d Tells @BeedieonTV \u201cThis was our only safe space in The Springs. Where are we gonna go?\u201d\n#LGBTQ #ClubQ\u201d— Josh Helmuth KRDO (@Josh Helmuth KRDO) 1668961445
"All I could think about was everything -- my life, just everything, friends, family, loved ones," he continued, tearing up. "I came here to celebrate my birthday. Honestly, I was supposed to be in Denver. But I came back a day early. And I just ... it's sad."
Club Q was the only "safe space" for the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs, he said. "For this to get shot up, like, what are we gonna do now? Where are we gonna go?" The community can rebuild, he said, but "what about those people that lost their lives for no reason? Like the other 18 that were injured? I could have been one of them."
"How are we gonna feel safe in our city?" Joshua added. Club Q was "the only LGBTQIA+ space in the entire city of Colorado Springs," he said. The club has won awards, and he's met many friends there, he noted. "And now it's shattered," he concluded.
