The mother of Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, posted a chilling Facebook message in the hours before her son allegedly opened fire at Club Q, leaving five dead and many others wounded.
The suspect in the massacre carried out at the LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado, made his first virtual courtroom appearance Wednesday.
The mother of Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, posted a chilling Facebook message in the hours before her son allegedly opened fire at Club Q, leaving five dead and many others wounded.
“My son is missing,” she wrote. “He took my phone and my debit card. We had plans and were so excited.”
She also noted Aldrich had told her, “Get ready to have the best night ever.”
Aldrich slumped in a wheelchair while appearing virtually before El Paso County Court Judge Charlotte Ankeny, who ruled he will continue to be held without bond.
The Colorado state public defender wrote in court filings released Tuesday that Aldrich is nonbinary, ABC News reported. Aldrich is being held on 10 "arrest only" charges: five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, online court records showed.
The district attorney's office expects to file formal charges by the next court date, Colorado's Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen, who serves El Paso and Teller counties, told reporters after Wednesday's hearing.
More charges than what were initially included in the arrest warrant may be filed, authorities said. Police are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.
Ankeny scheduled Aldrich to next appear in court on Dec. 6 at 8:30 a.m. local time. That appearance may change due to a scheduling conflict with the defense.
To date, there have been more than 605 mass shootings in the U.S. this year.
