美国国家公共电台 NPR--The shooting at the Colorado Springs LGBTQ club was horrific, police chief says

The shooting at the Colorado Springs LGBTQ club was horrific, police chief says

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Adrian Vasquez, chief of police, about the investigation² into the deadly shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub. Investigators³ are looking into whether it was a hate crime.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

With us now, the police chief of Colorado Springs, Adrian Vasquez. Chief, thank you so much for being with us this morning. And our deepest condolences to you and your community there.

ADRIAN VASQUEZ: Well, thank you, Rachel. I appreciate it. Pretty sad event and just horrific, I thank you for your coverage⁴ on it, though.

MARTIN: Yeah. We know it's early in the investigation. But is there anything more you can tell us about the gunman?

VASQUEZ: At this point in time, obviously - I left late last night, so I haven⁵'t been briefed. And I'll receive an updated briefing here later this morning. There's not a lot more that I know at this point. But I know our investigators are working tirelessly to conduct interviews, contact family members and other witnesses. So hopefully, we'll know a little bit more later this morning.

MARTIN: As we just heard from our reporter, there was a man with the same name and age who was taken into custody⁶ in June of last year and charged with making bomb threats against his mother, the same name and age as the gunman who attacked the Club Q. Can you confirm that this is the same man?

VASQUEZ: Well, as we do in every investigation, we, of course, look at the history of the individual, the suspect in that particular case. At this point in time, our investigators are still looking into that. As you can imagine, the focus was on the scene and processing. So I should have updated information on that as part of the investigation.

MARTIN: If and when you can confirm that, though, would it indicate that Colorado's red flag law had been ignored?

VASQUEZ: Well, I think when we look into other contacts, obviously, it's going to depend on what the type of contact was for. Did it fall in the realm of a red flag issue and - you know, or not? So that we don't know at this point in time.

MARTIN: The man, the shooter, was described as heavily armed. What preparation might have gone into this attack?

VASQUEZ: So he - we know that he was carrying a long gun. And it was an AR-style platform. And we also know that he had additional multiple magazines with ammunition⁷. So obviously, the thought that comes to mind through an investigation like this would be the knowledge that that many rounds might be able to produce a lot of damage. And we know that as soon as he entered into the club, he immediately began firing on individuals. So there was no hesitation⁸ on his part to do the damage that he did. And so that speaks to, you know, the preparation that he took for - before entering that club.

MARTIN: I want to ask you about something the mayor of Colorado Springs, John Suthers, told us, our colleagues at NPR's All Things Considered. Let's listen to a little bit of that conversation.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JOHN SUTHERS: It certainly has the trappings of a hate crime. But it's too early to designate it as such because we - the motive⁹ really is a matter of investigation at this point in time.

MARTIN: The shooting did occur just before the Transgender Day of Remembrance. What can you say about a possible motive? Does it look and feel like a hate crime to you?

VASQUEZ: Well, I think I would agree with the mayor, certainly in his comment about the trappings of it, appearing that it could be that. Certainly, the type of club that it is, it's an LGBTQ club. And it is on the Transgender Day of Remembrance. So those things piecing together, you know, you would certainly take those into consideration as part of the investigation. I think there's a lot of work to be done before we can come to that determination, like interviews and, you know, search warrants on things like computers and those kinds of things to see what type of sentiment he may have posted or had. But certainly, it feels that way.

MARTIN: Can you give us a sense of the scope of the interviews that you've been doing at this point?

VASQUEZ: Sure. I mean, there's a tremendous amount of interviews. I'll be briefed a little bit more on the amount of individuals that were in the club. The problem is, of course, that individuals will flee, as anybody might think to do when something like that happens. So our investigators are having to track down those that were in the club as well as just interviews with members of family or friends that may have known the suspect. So we'll get a better feel for that as the interviews continue.

MARTIN: Do you believe the shooter was working alone?

VASQUEZ: At this point in time, we believe he was working alone. What we do want to make sure that we find out was - or is whether somebody was helping¹⁰ the individual, you know, potentially get weapons or understand what the club was about and those kinds of things. That's part of the ongoing¹¹ investigation. But as far as the shooting itself, we do believe he was working alone.

MARTIN: What's your message to the community right now, I mean, especially the LGBTQ community, who is likely feeling vulnerable?

VASQUEZ: Yeah, absolutely, and completely understandable. Club Q was a place that they could go that is a safe haven to them. And it is a place they feel like they should be able to go into without fear of being harmed. And this community is truly very inclusive. And overall, I feel like I want the message to be that the police department stands beside them and is here for their protection. And it's just - I'm absolutely heartbroken over this. It's sad. And it's really just horrific to have somebody evil like this individual doing this kind of act. We are here for the LGBTQ community.

MARTIN: Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. Thank you so much.

VASQUEZ: Absolutely. Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

7 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

8 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

9 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。