Los Angeles (AFP) - The suspect in a gun attack on an LGBTQ club in the United States that left five people dead was charged Tuesday with 305 criminal counts, including murder.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, has been in custody since the rampage last month in Club Q in Colorado Springs that also left at least 18 people injured.
The suspect, who court-appointed lawyers have said identifies as non-binary, appeared in court on Tuesday to face the litany of charges.
They include 10 counts of first-degree murder -- two for each victim, one of murder with intent, and one of murder with extreme indifference.Both charges carry a maximum life sentence without the possibility of parole.
It is not uncommon in the United States for prosecutors to levy multiple charges for the same crime.
So-called "charge stacking" increases the likelihood of conviction in cases where a jury finds the circumstances do not exactly fit one of the charges, and would therefore find the defendant not guilty.
Aldrich also faces 86 counts of attempted first-degree murder, as well as dozens of bias-motivated crimes -- the name for hate crimes in Colorado -- and dozens more of assault.
The suspect, who is bearded and heavy-set, wore jail-issue clothes in court and appeared to have recovered from injuries apparently sustained when patrons of Club Q put a stop to the gun attack.
Military veteran Richard Fierro, who was visiting the club with his wife, told reporters he had snatched the attacker's pistol and used it as a cudgel to stop the assault.
The November 20 gun attack shattered the peace of Colorado Springs' LGBTQ community, as customers and staff at the well-known club were gunned down on a night of revelry.
Reporting since the attack has revealed a chaotic life for the alleged attacker, with a childhood marked by instability and with parents who suffered from substance abuse problems.
