Colorado shooter is the biological grandson of California Assemblyman Randy Voepel
Colorado shooter is the biological grandson of California Assemblyman Randy Voepel, sources confirm Updated: 5:26 PM PST Nov 21, 2022Ashley Zavala California Capitol Correspondent
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The suspect in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado is the biological grandson of California Assemblyman Randy Voepel, multiple sources close to Voepel confirmed Monday.
Sources close to Voepel told KCRA 3, the assemblyman has not had a relationship with the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Anderson Aldrich, for nearly 10 years.AdvertisementVoepel’s office said the Republican assemblyman was not yet ready to comment as of Monday afternoon.
Since 2016, Voepel has represented the 71st Assembly District, which encompasses parts of Riverside and San Diego counties. Following Saturday's shooting, Voepel and his office received death threats and calls to resign, even though Voepel lost his Assembly seat in the midterm election weeks ago.Voepel's district was redrawn to the new, 75th Assembly District, forcing a Republican-on-Republican race between him and another incumbent, Assemblywoman Marie Waldron. Waldron so far had 68% of the votes as of Monday.
Voepel, a Vietnam veteran, was the Vice-Chair of the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee and the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee in the Assembly.In his most recent campaign, Voepel's platforms included improving public safety, lowering the cost of living, addressing homelessness, helping veterans and protecting gun rights in California.
Aldrich is being held on murder and hate crime charges since the attack at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday night that killed five people and wounded 17 others.In 2021, Aldrich's mother reported that he threatened her with a homemade bomb.
The Associated Press reported he was not prosecuted.Sources close to Voepel said he did not try to interfere with any law enforcement action in that situation.As reports resurface of Voepel's past comment comparing the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol to the Revolutionary War, those close to him pointed KCRA 3 to a statement he made around that time, noting he did not support or condone what happened."The events that took place, as unacceptable as they were, are a sign of deep division currently facing our nation," Voepel wrote five days after the insurrection.
"That is why it is especially important each of us work extra hard to heal the divisions between us."An advocacy group for national security urged the state legislature to expel him for his comments following January 6, but those calls were unsuccessful
