Joshua Thurman, a 34-year-old Colorado Springs resident, broke down in tears as he recounted how he nearly lost his life when a 22-year-old gunman opened fire inside a gay nightclub on Saturday night. According to 13 ABC, the Colorado resident said he was dancing at Club Q when shots erupted.

Thurman initially thought he was hearing noise from the music. But he realized what was happening when he heard another shot and saw the flash of a gun muzzle.

Thurman said he ran to a dressing room with another person and hid. The survivors in the dressing room turned off the lights and lay on the floor.  While hiding, Thurman said he could hear noises outside, including voices of people who were trying to hold down the shooter.

“I could have lost my life — over what? What was the purpose?” Thurman told reporters. “We were just enjoying ourselves. We weren’t out harming anyone. We were in our space, our community, our home, enjoying ourselves like everybody else does.”

Five people died in the shooting while 25 others were injured. The suspected shooter, Anderson Lee Aldrich, is now in custody. Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said the shooter was stopped by “at least two heroic people.”

“We owe them a great debt of thanks,” Vasquez told 13 ABC.

The shooting came during Transgender Awareness Week and a day before International Transgender Day of Remembrance.

“This is our only safe space in the Springs, so for this to get shot up, like, what are we going to do now?” Thurman said. “Where are we gonna go? Yeah we can rebuild, but what about those people that lost their life for no reason?”

Thurman said Club Q is “the only LGBTQIA+ space in the entire Colorado Springs.”

“I got my start here,” he said. “So many of my friends I met here and people I call loved ones and now it’s shattered.”

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