An LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was considered a safe space before tragedy struck late Saturday night.
"I was on the dance floor, and I heard four to five shots ring out," said Joshua Thurman.
After realizing the sounds he heard were gunshots, he said he ran into the bathroom with two others, locked the door and called 911.
He would soon learn five people were killed and more than two dozen others were injured at Club Q.
It's one of the few LGBTQ nightclubs in the area.
“Imagine the one place you feel safe, no matter what, your home, your car, with your loved ones, or whatever, imagine that is now taken away from you,” Thurman said.
Club Q wasn't just a place to have a good time. It also provided a sense of community. People could go there to get guidance.
“Sometimes people would come, and they would want to talk about coming out with their parents and I would counsel people at the tables about social issues, answer theological questions and those kinds of things because the younger person felt comfortable being here, and they could bring their parents here," said chaplain Michael Travis, a former police officer. "And now, if you don’t have Club Q, what do you have?”
What will happen to Club Q remains to be seen. However, those who felt loved at Club Q won't let hate win.
“This isn’t our end. The end for us. We’re going to come back ten times stronger and better," Thurman said. "This is not the end."
