COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Ashley Paugh capped off a day journey on this metropolis with an evening of enjoyable on the LGBTQ nightclub Membership Q when a lone gunman opened fireplace, killing her and 4 others, her sister informed NBC Information in an unique interview.
Stephanie Clark stated Paugh, 35, was a loving mom and spouse who was dedicated to her household, together with her 11-year-old daughter.
“My niece is devastated,” Clark stated, including that Paugh “lived for her daughter.”
In a telephone interview Monday, Clark sobbed and described an intense swirl of feelings within the wake of her sister’s dying.
“It simply would not appear actual,” Clark stated. “We’re heartbroken. We’re unhappy. We’re mad, offended.”
Paugh, who is just not a part of the LGBTQ group, spent Saturday in Colorado Springs with a feminine buddy. They’d pushed up from La Junta, Colorado.
Observe alongside for reside protection of the capturing.
The 2 associates bought a chunk to eat, went procuring and deliberate to finish the evening at Membership Q, the place they have been anticipating a slapstick comedian to carry out, Clark stated.
Paugh’s hobbies included fishing and looking; simply final week, she shot a deer, her sister stated.
Clark stated that Thanksgiving will probably be terribly troublesome with out Paugh.
“Nothing will ever be the identical with out her,” Clark stated. “Proper now, I don’t wish to giggle. She was a loving, caring one that would do something for anyone. We’re gonna miss her a lot.”
Paugh and 4 others have been killed and 25 injured after a gunman began capturing indiscriminately at Membership Q on Saturday evening, sending individuals scrambling for canopy and leaving horror within the wake.
A suspect is in custody after being subdued by not less than two individuals contained in the membership, officers stated.
Membership Q on Sunday decried “disgusting rhetoric” aimed on the LGBTQ group and thanked those that “moved instantly to cease the gunman” and sure prevented “extra lack of life.”
“Membership Q is in shock, and in deep mourning, with the household and associates who had family members senselessly taken from them.
“We condemn the horrific violence that shattered a night of celebration for all within the LGBTQ group of Colorado Springs and our allies,” the membership stated in an announcement launched by GLAAD.
Deon J. Hampton reported from Colorado Springs, Colorado; Daniel Arkin reported from New York.
CORRECTION (Nov. 22, 2022, 12:04 p.m.): An earlier model of this text misspelled the sufferer’s final identify. It’s Paugh, not Pogue.
