ABOVE: Derrick Rump and Daniel Aston. Photo via Amber Duffy/Facebook.
Two of the five victims fatally shot in the mass shooting at the Club Q nightclub were bartenders Derrick Rump, also a co-owner of the bar, and Daniel Aston.
Tributes poured in to both men on social media. Local Colorado Springs digital creator and photographer Amber Duffy, who along with her husband Dustin were regulars at the club, posted on Facebook about both victims.
“He was our baby and he was our youngest,” his mother, Sabrina Aston, told KRDO, a Colorado Springs television station, when speaking about her son. Posts on social media showed an out pouring of grief for the 28-year-old transgender male bartender.
Reuben Warren, a behavior therapist, wrote about Rump.
In another post, “My heart hurts for them,” a local drag performer wrote offering a tribute to Aston, who recently moved to Colorado Springs from his native Oklahoma.
Sabrina Aston described her son as able to make friends quickly after moving because of “his magnetic personality.”
Colorado Public Radio reporter Allison Sherry also interview Aston’s parents, tweeting:
Here’s my story about the Aston family. A large chunk of their interview will run in Morning Edition tomorrow. https://t.co/woYoK0dGgm
— Allison Sherry (@allisonsherry) November 21, 2022
“I cannot believe this is happening in a place we call a safe space we had that taken from us tonight. My heart is shattered,” Carzsa Maestas also wrote. “Club Q is where I started my drag career. It’s my home bar. This is absolutely beyond devastating and I pray to God that everyone there tonight is OK.”
In response to the tragedy the Colorado Springs Police Department is hosting a community resource expo following the mass shooting. The department plans to offer support in navigating the variety of emotions surrounding this tragedy.
The Colorado Springs Police Department will be hosting Community Resource Expos:
- Monday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
These are being held at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs’ Kevin W. O’Neill Cybersecurity and Resource Center.
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