“We need love”: Former Jonesboro resident survives nightclub shooting

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – As communities prepare to mourn following a deadly nightclub shooting in Colorado, a former Jonesboro resident is thankful to be alive.

On Saturday, Nov. 19, five people were killed and 17 others were hurt at the Club Q nightclub in Colorado Springs.

It was an unfortunate reality for those inside at the time, including Luke Jackson.

“We were talking to a couple of the victims right before they saw their last light,” he recalled.

Jackson is originally from Jonesboro and moved to Colorado in July. He also works at Club Q.

Jackson explained he and his partner had left just moments before the shots rang out.

“This situation could have been so much different if I had decided, or even my partner decided to stay for just one more drink,” he said.

As someone who escaped death, Jackson said it’s a reality hard for him to deal with.

“It is hard to describe how you feel knowing that you were lucky enough to get out, but your friends weren’t,” he said.

Jackson doesn’t understand why someone would kill innocent people, including two of his co-workers.

“There is no reason that they don’t get to sit at the table at Thanksgiving. It is not fair,” he said.

Police have not released a motive for the violence, but the suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, is being charged with hate crimes.

For Jackson and millions of other members of the LGBTQIA+ community, hate is a part of daily life.

“We get looked down on. We get pushed aside and now this. It causes a lot of heartache,” he said.

Even though the hearts of millions ache, Jackson believes there is one thing that can combat the hate.

“Stand up and be a community. Love each other from afar,” he exclaimed. “At the end of the day, we need love.”

Jackson hopes this act of violence will prompt change, calling for everyone to work together to find a solution to gun violence in America.

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