According to their defense team, the alleged shooter who allegedly killed five people and wounded 18 others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is nonbinary.

In motions filed on their behalf, defence attorneys referred to the suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, as “Mx. Aldrich,” and stated in annotations that Aldrich is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. The motions concern the uncovering of documents and the gathering of proofs rather than Aldrich’s gender identity.

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According to officials, Aldrich has been accused of preliminarily five counts of murder and five counts of a discriminatory crime, but the claims are not final.

Aldrich went by the name Nicholas Franklin Brink until 2016, when they filed a petition in the Texas court for a name change just weeks before turning 16. According to the defense attorneys, Aldrich demanded the name change in order to “protect himself” from their father, who allegedly had a criminal past that included domestic abuse against Aldrich’s mother. However, according to Fox News, Aldrich’s request for a name change came months after they were allegedly bullied online.

A June 2015 website posting that targeted a teenager named Nick Brink suggests they were bullied in high school. The post included photos similar to those of the shooting suspect and made fun of Brink’s weight, lack of money, and alleged interest in Chinese comics.

The name change was first reported by the Washington Post. Aldrich was taken to the hospital after two customers allegedly restrained them and beat them with the gun used in the shooting. They were discharged from the hospital on November 23 and taken to the El Paso County jail in Colorado Springs.

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Last year, Aldrich was detained after their mother revealed that they had threatened her with a bomb and other weapons.

Some advocates have questioned why Colorado’s red flag law was not used to seize Aldrich’s weapons following the incident. The law allows family, friends, or police forces to petition before the court to have a person’s firearms confiscated if they pose a danger to themselves or others.