Two were trans, one was gay, and another was a mother. They were all loved.
In Colorado Springs, five men were killed in Saturday’s Club Q shooting. These people were patrons and staff of a sanctuary that was located right in the heart of a conservative community known for its anti-gay views.
“In a world that can be so dark and so angry, it’s that one place that feels like home,” Jewels Parks is a regular club member and drag queen. “We’re able to unwind, forget about our troubles with work, family, society.
“Because of Club Q, we’re able to make friends that turn into family and be accepted for our true selves,” Parks told CNN.
The lost have been identified as Kelly Loving, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh, Raymond Green Vance and Daniel Davis Aston. Their deaths have galvanized and gutted the LGBTQ community.
Those gathered Saturday night at Club Q were celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual event that commemorates the danger and violence visited upon trans and gay people who openly embrace their true selves.
Rump and Aston were bartenders. Paugh, Vance and Loving were patrons. They were shot with a long rifle, allegedly fired by 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, who faces five counts of murder and five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime, authorities said.
Here is a look at the victims.
Daniel Davis Aston, 28
Sabrina and Jeff Aston said their son was happy, the life of the party and a huge fan of being just plain silly. His entrance lit up a room, and he loved his job as a supervising bartender at Club Q. Saturday was a special night for him.
“They were doing, like, a celebration of life for those people that had died,” Sabrina Aston spoke to The Associated Press. “And instead, they lost their lives.”
Aston, who was born a man to his mother in 1969, went on to Northeastern State University (Tahlequah), Oklahoma to become president of the LGBTQ club.
“We are in shock, we cried for a little bit, but then you go through this phase where you are just kind of numb, and I’m sure it will hit us again,” Sie said. “I keep thinking it’s a mistake, they made a mistake, and that he is really alive,” The mother also added.
His parents were often present at his performances, which he enjoyed playing to the crowd in costume. “He had so much more life to give to us, and to all his friends and to himself,” his mother told the Denver Post.
But now, life is “just a nightmare that you can’t wake up from,” Sie said.
Derrick Rump, 38
Rump, a bartender who was also co-owner at Club Q. Rump is a homosexual man. “one of the sweetest, funniest, quirkiest smartasses you’d ever want to meet,” his friend Sky Lay told the Colorado Sun.
Rump is known for his quick wit, compassion, and love of people.
“Loving, supportive, with a heavy hand in his drink pouring, and just a really good listener and would not be afraid to tell you when you were wrong instead of telling you what you wanted to hear, and that was really valuable,” his friend Anthony Jaramillo told CBS News.
“He genuinely loved Club Q,” Shadavia Green told The New York Times that she worked at Rump behind the bars. “He was the bar.”
Kelly Loving, 42
Loving, who was transgender, spoke to her sister that day.
“I had just got off the phone with her that same day,” Tiffany Loving spoke to ABC News. “We had video calls that same day. She was a kind person, she was loving, always fighting for people.”
Friend Natalee Skye Bingham, 25, said she met Loving some seven years ago, when they worked at a Florida club. She said Loving was like a mother and encouraged her to embrace her.
“When I first started to transition, I wasn’t confident at all,” Bingham spoke to The New York Times. “She reminded me that you are not doing the wrong thing by being trans, that it was OK to embrace it because you are a beautiful person.”
Bingham claimed that Loving had been shot, stabbed, and beat up in her role as transwoman. Although her friend was feeling depressed, she had expressed excitement about going out on Saturday. Bingham stated that it was her first time visiting the club.
“It was nice to see her so confident in herself,” Bingham spoke. “It was so relieving to know that she felt beautiful that night.”
Ashley Paugh 35
Paugh, the mother of an 11 year-old girl who came to Colorado Springs with a friend for the day, was Paugh. Paugh was not LGBTQ and was married to her high-school sweetheart. She had been to the club to watch a show.
“It just doesn’t seem real,” Stephanie Clark, her sister, spoke to NBC News. “We’re heartbroken. We’re sad. We’re mad, angry.”
Kids Crossing is a charity that helps foster children. “She’d always wanted better homes, better places for children,” her nephew, Jaden Harris, told The Times.
“Nothing will ever be the same without her,” Her sister spoke up. “She was a loving, caring person who would do anything for anybody. We’re gonna miss her so much.”
Raymond Green Vance 22
Vance visited Club Q for the first time on Saturday night, along with his girlfriend and her family and some friends. Vance and his girlfriend were celebrating a special birthday.
His job was at FedEx. “was thrilled to have received his first paycheck,” You can read the statement of his family. “He couldn’t wait to save enough money to get his own apartment.”
A statement was also released by his parents via social media.
“With an incredibly heavy and broken heart we lost Raymond, who had been a part of our lives since our daughter was in high school,” The post was. “Raymond was Kassy’s boyfriend. We are going to miss him and his bright smile so much. We are going through a lot of emotions … The loss of lives and the injured are in our hearts. We are devastated and torn. We love our #lgbtq community and stand with them.”
Vance was raised in a close-knit, large family. “His absence will leave irreparable heartbreak in countless lives,” his relatives said in their statement.