Colorado Springs shooting suspect appears in hearing with facial injuries

The suspect in the mass shooting that killed five people and wounded 17 at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub appeared before a judge in a video link from jail on Wednesday, slumped to the side and in a wheelchair, showing facial injuries and with difficulty speaking.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, had been in hospital since his arrest early Sunday morning until Tuesday, when he was transferred to jail.

His advisement hearing took place via video link, with the defendant handcuffed and wearing a jail uniform.

Though officials have not detailed his injuries, the suspect was pummeled by Richard Fierro, a decorated former Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, in a successful effort to stop further bloodshed at Club Q in Colorado's second-largest city.

Police initially held Aldrich on arrest charges of five counts of first-degree murder and bias crimes stemming from the Saturday night killings.