Listen to this articleTwo bartenders who were working last night when a man entered the bar with two weapons and began shooting are among the dead, according to coworkers and social media. Police have not released the names of any of the victims.
Drag performer Leia-Jhene Seals, who was onstage Saturday night, told Colorado Springs newspaper The Gazette that Derrick Rump and Daniel Davis Aston were two who lost their lives that night.
Derrick Rump
“He was a Bartender Server and co-owner of Club Q, Colorado Springs. He was also an accomplished drag queen performer and loved singing,” Lavender Clinic wrote on their Facebook page. “A friend described Rump as bubbly and someone who liked to crack jokes. Another friend said that he looked out for them and made them feel comfortable when they were new to the scene.”
Rump “kept his smile,” said performer Tiara Latrice Kelley. “He was all about keeping people happy.”
“A lot of us, we don’t have family, and (LGBTQ+) people really need somewhere that’s a safe space,” Seals said. “Club Q was that to us.”
Daniel Davis Aston
Aston, a transgender male who completed his transition to male in June, was energetic and helpful, said Seals to the Gazette. “He was always, ‘Do you need anything?’”
Friends of Aston describe him as a drag king, performer, and bartender.
Aston’s cousin Jacob Cummins wrote of his loss on Facebook.
“I know he would want us to use love and not hate,” Cummins wrote. “I feel all sorts of feelings I never thought I’d have to think about, but please, love your loved ones and love your neighbors even more.”
Healing Fund
“Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community,” the club said in a Facebook post hours after the shooting. “… We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack.” In a later post, the club encouraged users to “please please donate” to the Colorado Healing Fund, a nonprofit organization working to support the victims.
