- The Washington Times - Thursday, November 24, 2022

The father of the man accused of killing five people in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado says he was relieved to find out that his son is not gay after learning of the attack.

Aaron Brink, father of shooting suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich, shared his response to Saturday’s deadly incident in an interview with CBS 8 San Diego.

“I was scared. I was like ‘Oh my God, s—-. Is he gay? And he’s not gay,” said Mr. Brink, 48.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, whose lawyers recently said is nonbinary, faces murder and hate crime charges in the Saturday night shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs that left five people dead and 18 injured.

Mr. Brink said that when he received a call this week from his son’s attorneys about the shooting, he had not spoken with his son in more than six months.

“I don’t [know] what he’s accused of. I can’t get answers from the attorneys really, but they’re saying it’s involving a gay bar. I don’t know what the heck he did at a gay bar,” Mr. Brink said.

He added: “OK, well s—-, he’s accused of doing that, I’m glad he’s not gay. I can say that, I’m glad he’s not gay.”

Mr. Brink said he is a Mormon and conservative Republican, adding “we don’t do gay.”

He said he has been estranged from his son since his ex-wife told him that his son’s name had changed from Nicholas Brink to Anderson Aldrich.

Mr. Brink also apologized to the victims’ families for their loss.

• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.

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