A makeshift memorial near the Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub where five people were shot dead
A makeshift memorial near the Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub where five people were shot dead AFP

A 23-year-old who shot five people dead at an LGBTQ club in the US state of Colorado last year pleaded guilty on Monday and will face life in prison.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, who identifies as non-binary, was facing more than 300 criminal counts for the November 19, 2022 rampage in Colorado Springs.

Aldrich was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, carrying out bias-motivated crimes and other offenses.

The murder charges carry a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.

The bearded and heavy-set Aldrich appeared in an El Paso County court on Monday and told the judge he accepted the terms of the plea deal.

Aldrich was overpowered by patrons of Club Q in Colorado Springs after opening fire with an AR-15-style assault rifle, killing five people and injuring 18.

The shooting was the latest in a long history of attacks on LGBTQ venues in the United States, the deadliest of which claimed 49 lives at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.

With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country -- 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.