‘We don’t do gay’: Father of Colorado shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich goes on anti-gay rant in bizarre interview
The father of Anderson Lee Aldrich — the suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado nightclub — spewed anti-gay comments in a rambling, incoherent explanation of his relationship with his estranged son.
The dad bizarrely claimed during an interview with CBS 8- San Diego that his first concern upon learning his son allegedly killed five at an LGBT establishment was whether his child was homosexual.
“I was scared. I was like ‘Oh my god, s–t, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay,” Aaron Brink, 48, said with an exaggerated sigh of relief.
Brink, who lives in San Diego and has been estranged from Aldrich for years, said he doesn’t support same-sex relationships.
“I’m a Mormon,” the former MMA fighter-turned-porn star told a reporter for the station. I’m a conservative Republican and we don’t do gay.”
He said Aldrich’s attorneys called him and told him that his 22-year-old child was involved in the shooting at Club Q in Colorado, but he hadn’t spoken to them in six months.
“I don’t what he’s accused of. I can’t get answers from the attorneys really, but they’re saying it’s involving a gay bar. I don’t know what the heck he did at a gay bar,” Brink said.
A CBS 8 reporter explained to Brink that Aldrich is accused of orchestrating a mass shooting at a gay bar, killing five people and wounding many more.
“OK, well s–t, he’s accused of doing that, I’m glad he’s not gay. I can say that, I’m glad he’s not gay,” Brink said in a shocking response.
Court filings in the mass shooting case revealed Tuesday that Aldrich is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Their sexuality is unknown.
Brink added that he believes relationships should be between a man and a woman and that people “should stand up against homosexuality” — but through not violence, he noted.
The father said there was no acceptable reason for his child’s alleged actions.
“There’s no excuse for going and killing people… It’s not the answer,” Brink told the local station.
He apologized to the families of the victims — saying regardless of politics, precious human lives were lost.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
Bartenders Daniel Davis Aston, 28, and Derrick Rump, 38, were slain in the attack, along with Raymond Green Vance, 22, Ashley Paugh, 35, and Kelly Loving, 40.
“Those people’s lives were valuable,” Brink said. “They were good people probably. You know, it’s not something you kill people over. I’m sorry, I let my son down.”
The California resident said he had been largely uninvolved in Aldrich’s life after they turned 10 and moved states. He and their mother divorced when Aldrich was just a baby.
Brink — who said he has permanent damage from a past meth addiction as well as head trauma from a career as an MMA fighter — had not spoken to his child in six months and prior to that believed they had died of suicide six years ago, he said.
He said his ex-wife, Aldrich’s mother, called him from Colorado in 2016 to tell him their child had killed themself after changing their name from Nicholas Brink to Anderson Aldrich.
“I thought he was dead. I mourned his loss,” Brink told CBS 8. “I had gone through a meltdown and thought I had lost my son.”
He said his ex-wife told him Aldrich changed their name and dropped Brink’s last name due to his career in the adult film industry as well as his feature in an A&E show called “Intervention,” chronicling his addiction to crystal meth.
Brink, who got his start in the adult entertainment industry at age 27, has starred in XXX video gems like White Boys Can Hump’’ in 2016 and both “My MILF Boss 8’’ and “It’s OK to Put It in My A–’’ in 2014, according to his IMDB page.
Pornography is considered a sin in the Mormon religion.
“His mother told me he changed his name because I was in Intervention and I had been a porno actor,” Brink said.
Six months ago, Brink said Aldrich called him on the phone, which was how he learned they were still alive. He said the call ended in an argument.
Still, Brink said he loves his child.
“I love my son no matter what. I love my son,” he said.
Aldrich is accused of shooting up Club Q just before midnight Saturday, killing five and wounding more than a dozen others before two patrons took them down.
They appeared dazed, bruised and bloodied in court Wednesday — apparently from the actions of the two people called heroes, who held them down until police arrived.
Authorities have not released a potential motive in the horrific attack, but are expected to file hate crime charges as well as murder charges against Aldrich. Hate-crime charges would mean prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to prove that the suspect targeted their victims based on a bias like their sexual or gender identities.
