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Army veteran Richard Fierro is shown with his family in this undated picture. Fierro was one of two men who rushed to confront and subdue the gunman at the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs on Saturday, November 19, 2022.

Army veteran Richard Fierro is shown with his family in this undated picture. Fierro was one of two men who rushed to confront and subdue the gunman at the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs on Saturday, November 19, 2022. (Facebook)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Tribune News Service) — The gratitude and honors continue for Club Q hero Richard Fierro, one of two men who sprung into action to subdue a mass shooter at the LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19.

The decorated Army veteran, who served four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, will receive the “Lifesaving Military Hero of the Year Award” at Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Heroes Soiree in Denver, a fundraising gala hosted by the American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming.

The award is “presented to a member of the armed forces, active or veteran, whose heroic actions demonstrated exceptional courage,” according to the organization’s website.

Fierro was at Club Q with his wife, Jess, daughter, Kassy, and a group of close family friends when gunfire erupted late that Saturday night. Fierro and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas James tackled and disarmed accused shooter Anderson Aldrich, stopping a shooting spree that injured 18 people and killed five, including Kassy’s boyfriend, 22-year-old Raymond Green Vance.

In the months since the attack, Fierro also has been honored by the D.C.-based League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s oldest and largest Hispanic and Latin-American civil rights organization.

“Rich, who was twice honored with the Bronze Star for heroism in combat, exemplifies what our Latino servicemembers and veterans do in the face of danger, even when it means putting their own lives on the line,” said President Domingo Garcia in a statement on the organization’s website, adding that the group’s Presidential Medal is “the highest honor bestowed by the league” in its 93-year history.

“Only a select group of men and women are worthy of this honor, and Rich is a hero whose actions saved lives, even if he might lose his own,” Garcia said.

Fierro was in the audience in D.C. last month, at the invitation of Colorado U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, while President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address. In January, Fierro and James were guests at Gov. Jared Polis’ State of the State address in Denver.

Early this year, Fierro and his wife — both San Diego natives — were presented with tickets to Super Bowl LVII by the Los Angeles Chargers (formerly the San Diego Chargers), who celebrated the family in person at a surprise ceremony during the team’s final home game of the season.

Rich and Jess Fierro own Atrevida Beer Co. in Colorado Springs.

(c)2023 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Visit The Gazette at www.gazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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