More than a year before the attack that killed five people at a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub, the suspect told relatives that "you guys die today" if they persisted in telling police about his plans to build a bomb and harm others, reports USA Today. Newly released documents shed light on the investigation into Anderson Aldrich after his grandparents reported to police last year that he was preparing a bomb and threatened them. "You guys die today and I'm taking you with me," Aldrich is quoted as telling the grandparents. "I'm loaded and ready. You're not calling anyone." The records offer insight into the division among family members as some fought to shield Aldrich from prosecution while others expressed concern that he was violent and might kill people. "We feel certain that if (Aldrich) is freed that (Aldrich) will hurt or murder my brother and his wife," the suspect's great uncle and aunt, Robert Pullen and Jeanie Streltzoff, wrote to a judge after Aldrich was charged with five felonies in the bomb threat case. In the end, the county's prosecutor said his office was forced to drop the charges because Aldrich's family wouldn't cooperate.
The unsealed documents say that on June 18, 2021, Aldrich’s grandmother, Pamela Pullen, told police that Aldrich had been working on creating a bomb in their basement. When Pullen and her husband, Jonathan, told Aldrich they had sold their Colorado home and planned to move to Florida, Aldrich threatened the grandparents and said they couldn’t move because it would "interfere with his bomb-making." Aldrich told the grandparents about a plan to "conduct a mass shooting and bombing," says an affidavit. Aldrich held the grandparent's hostage in their home until they promised not to move. A SWAT standoff ensued at Aldrich's mother's home, where Aldrich fled and threatened to use explosives. The incident forced neighbors to evacuate and police crisis negotiators to respond before he surrendered. Aldrich was arrested for menacing and kidnapping. El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen said his office made "valiant efforts" to serve the family subpoenas for their testimony but there was "no likelihood these people were going to show up" because they have "basically been avoiding everyone." The case was dismissed and sealed. Without the testimony of the suspect's family about the threats allegedly made by Aldrich, Allen said, the prosecution was unable to prove its case.