Shooting Victim Barrett Hudson, 31, Reveals ‘I Thought I Was Dead’ After Being Shot 7 Times (Exclusive)

barrett hudsonThe 31-year-old was enjoying a night out with a friend when she suddenly became one of the victims of a mass shooting at the Colorado Springs LGBT nightclub Club Q on Nov. 19. The deadly shooting left five dead and dozens injured. 🇧🇷 Hollywood life spoke EXCLUSIVELY to Barrett, who “thought [he] I was dead” after being shot seven times by a gunman holding an AR-15.

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Does not know: Can you explain exactly what happened that night at the club?

Barrett: “I just moved to Colorado about a month and a half ago. I went with someone else and we hadn’t been there before so we just wanted to check it out. And we were going there to see a drag show. We were probably only there for about 30, 45 minutes. And I mean, it was 30, 45 seconds before the start. Had we left when we left we would have been at the bar closing our bill or walking through the entrance so who knows what would have happened.

“I saw him kill someone in cold blood right before my eyes. I swear to god he stopped for a second or two before shooting this guy. So I’ll tell you, when you hear gunshots, and I’ve never heard gunshots this close, but other than this time, it sounds like balloons pop because the echo is so loud and the music keeps playing. So it’s not loud, loud because it can be in the music. But when he opened fire, we heard nine or ten shots. I look to the right and see the door closed, and I see him standing there with an AR-15. Since I have an AR-15, I know what they look like.

“When he opened the door, he was right about this group of people. They couldn’t be in a worse place. They were like sitting ducks. One boy raised his hands and took two steps back. And the guy just shot him in the head, or maybe it was in the chest. That’s when everyone in the club started running. He was dark in the club, but the shots could be seen and heard.”

HL: How did you manage to escape?

Barrett: “I ran out the back door and got shot left and right. Once on the left elbow and once on the right elbow, then five times on the back. It all happened so fast. I was just fighting for my life. I had no choice but to continue. They kept shooting at me all the time as I ran. I fell and got up. I got out and immediately looked to the right. I think I didn’t even look to the left as there were double doors and the left one was still open. So I went straight so it didn’t have the same range of fire.

“I saw a fence about 10 or 12 feet away, so I ran and jumped over the fence. I jumped over. I ran about 100 feet and jumped onto the ledge, which was probably a 15 foot ledge. So I ran into a CVS and was screaming for help. That’s when I had my moment to come to Jesus. I was lying on the sidewalk of the 7-Eleven and people were helping me. They called 911, but the ambulances took forever.

“The people who helped me started counting all the bullet holes. They told me how many times I was shot and I was bleeding profusely. As I lay there, I saw several police officers and ambulances helping other victims. Around that time, while lying on the ground waiting for an ambulance, I called my father and told him how much I loved him because I thought he was dead, since we couldn’t call an ambulance there.

“At one point, we were actually going to put me in someone’s car. But then the police came, then the firemen, but we still couldn’t find an ambulance. They said, ‘Well, let’s put that in the fire truck, but they finally have an ambulance. I feel that I would have had a better chance of living if I had gone in someone else’s car just for the time it took for the ambulance.”

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HL: Did you have contact with any of the other survivors after the attack? if so, what was she like?

Barrett: No, unfortunately, not yet. I was in the hospital until a few days ago and now I’m just focused on recovering. Also, you have to remember that I was only in Colorado a few weeks, right? I just moved there. I didn’t know anyone. In fact, I’m now back in North Carolina, where my whole family is, so they can help take care of me.”

HL: How are you feeling today?

Barrett: “I was cleared to leave the hospital after 72 hours. I’m back in North Carolina, where I’ve been ever since, and luckily I can walk and talk. Sitting hurts, but I found that one of the bullets narrowly missed my spine and all the others hit my major organs.

HL: Did you ever imagine that something like this would happen to you?

Barrett: “Absolutely not. But what I did when I entered the club, I actually scrutinized my outings. I looked around and paid attention. And in my head, I said, ‘God forbid a sniper enters.’ Where do I run? And I saw the back doors. In fact, I do this at every gay bar I go to. I look around on my way out, just from all the gunfire.”

HL: How has it affected your life? Are you afraid to go out again? Could you go to a club again?

Barrett: “Hell no, I could never make a club again. I’m more of a bar guy in general, but still… even if I had a gun, things happen so fast I don’t know what it would have been for. When I saw him shoot that guy, I ran out before his body fell. As soon as I saw the fire coming out of the gun I ran to get it and I knew it was no joke. This is real life, but I still feel like I’m waking up.”

HL: What do you think should be done to prevent this from happening again? Are gay bars still safe places?

Barrett: “Not in 2022. Gay bars are the most dangerous places you can go because we are the most attacked. If you want to photograph something and you hate people, that’s usually where you go. Or like cinemas or churches. I mean, it was horrible. And if I thought about changing something, we need security and spending some money. I understand it will cost more but we need off duty agents. We need people who know how to carry weapons. Because if there had been security, it would have been a whole other story. They probably wouldn’t have gone into that bar.

HL: What kind of justice do you expect alleged shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich to receive?

Barrett: “I hope he gets life without parole because death is so easy. When you do such a thing, you are completely ready to die. The guy who took him down, I think in the mind of the shooter, he was like, ‘Oh shit, now I’m going to have to do this all the time.’ Therefore, life without parole would be a better punishment for him.

HL: As a gun owner, what is your take on gun control after this attack? Do you think better gun control would have changed the outcome?

Barrett: “It’s very easy to get a gun. It’s hard to get a gun. I have an AR-15 and various other weapons. It’s easier to get because an AR-15 is considered a rifle, so go out and buy a rifle. It’s a background check. You’re leaving in 10, 15 minutes. It’s very easy and I think we definitely need better gun control because we are the only country that is dropping like flies on our own people.”

HL: What is your message to the LGBTQ+ community?

Barrett: “That’s a good question. Um, you just know your exits. And stay safe. My message would be that it’s not safe enough to leave now.”