Colorado suspect charged with 305 counts over deadly gay club shooting

The suspect accused of entering a Colorado gay nightclub clad in body armor and opening fire with an AR-15-style rifle, killing five people and wounding 17 others, was charged by prosecutors on Tuesday with 305 criminal counts including hate crimes and murder.

Aldrich had been held on hate crime charges but prosecutors had said previously they were not sure if those counts would stick because they needed to assess if there was adequate evidence to show it was a bias-motivated crime.

Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns according to defense court filings, was arrested at the club by police. They have not entered a plea or spoken about the events.

Experts say someone who is nonbinary can be charged with a hate crime for targeting fellow members of the same group because hate crime laws are focused on the victims, not the perpetrator. But bringing a hate crime case to conviction can be difficult, because prosecutors must prove what motivated the defendant, a higher standard than usually required in court.

Colorado prosecutors will need concrete evidence such as statements Aldrich may have made about the shooting, Frank Pezzella, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said.