Veteran hailed a hero in Colorado shooting says he did what he was trained to do

A U.S. Army veteran who co-owns a Colorado brewery popular among Mexican Americans around the country is being hailed as a hero for helping subdue the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ club.

Driving the news: Richard Fierro was one of two patrons praised by authorities for disarming the suspect at Q Club after five people were killed and 17 others were left with gunshot wounds. Fierro told reporters a passing drag performer stomped on the gunman’s face at his request.

• His wife, Jessica Fierro, told NBC News her husband knocked weapons out of the gunman’s hands, took a pistol, and started hitting the suspect with it.
• The suspect, facing multiple murder and hate crime charges, was among those still in the hospital on Monday.

What they’re saying: Authorities said Fierro’s actions likely prevented further deaths.

• Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said he had “never encountered a person who had engaged in such heroic actions who was so humble about it.”

Yes, but: Fierro told reporters outside his Colorado Springs home Monday night he tackled the suspect because “that is what I was trained to do.”

• His four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan had prepared him for it and he got into “combat mode,” Fierro said.
• “I need to save my family. And that family… was everybody in that room,” he said.

The big picture: The Fierro family told reporters they were at Club Q with their daughter and friends to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

• Their daughter’s boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, was among those killed in the shooting.
• “There are five people I could not help, one of which was family to me,” Fierro said. “I feel no joy. That guy is still alive … and my family is not.”

Of note: Activists, artists, and scholars have taken to social media, urging fans to purchase merchandise from the brewery’s website in support of the Fierro family.

Flashback: Axios Latino featured Jessica Fierro in 2021 as one of the nation’s few Latina brewery owners.

• She told Axios that her husband, co-owner of the Atrevida Beer Company in Colorado Springs, was a motivator in helping her turn a passion for brewing craft beer into a business.
• Atrevida means “daring” or “brave” in Spanish.

The intrigue: Atrevida’s slogan is “Diversity, It’s on tap!” The Fierros’ Dolores Huerta Mexican Lager, named after the Mexican American civil rights icon, recently won a best lager award at a Denver brew fest.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.