Anderson Lee Aldrich, the gunman who allegedly killed five patrons in a Colorado gay bar Saturday night, was arrested for making a bomb threat in 2021.

According to an El Paso County press release from June of last year, law enforcement responded to a bomb threat involving Aldrich and his mother.

“The reporting party said her son [Aldrich] was threatening to cause harm to her with a homemade bomb, multiple weapons, and ammunition,” the police statement reads.

The threat lead local police to evacuate ten nearby homes and send out “an emergency text notification” to houses within a quarter-mile radius warning them of the unfolding situation.

After a negotiation unit successfully coaxed Aldrich to voluntarily leave his mother’s house, explosives experts searched the property but were unable to “find any explosive devices.”

Aldrich was eventually booked on two counts of felony menacing and three counts of first-degree kidnapping. Nevertheless, but for some unknown reason, those charges were eventually dropped, Reuters reported.

Leslie Bowman, 41, who rented out a room to Alrich’s mother when the bomb threat was made, confirmed that prosecutors declined to pursue charges against him and said she wasn’t surprised to learn he had carried out the shooting.

“When I heard it was him who did the shooting, I was surprised but not surprised at the same time – just knowing what he did before,” she said.

Aldrich sent a letter to the editor of the local paper The Gazette, in August demanding the deletion of an online article about the bomb threat incident.

“There is absolutely nothing there, the case was dropped, and I’m asking you either remove or update the story…The entire case was dismissed,” Aldrich wrote.

The news comes on the heels of the devastating attack that has left at least five dead and over two dozen wounded in an attack on Club Q in Colorado Springs. The bar’s official Facebook account released a public statement early Sunday morning confirming the initial reports.

"Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community. Our prays and thoughts are with all the victims and their families and friends. We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack," the post reads.

New developments continue to shed more light on the attack. According to the Colorado Springs police chief, several club-goers struggled with Aldrich, slowing down the carnage and ultimately saving lives.

Statements of support have flowed in from across the political spectrum as Colorado politicians have denounced the violence. Colorado Democratic senator John Hickenlooper called the shooting "an unspeakable act” while Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who narrowly won her House race last week, said the attack was "absolutely awful."

A spokesperson for the Colorado district attorney Howard Black’s office told NPR that a closer look at the bomb threat would be included in the broader investigation into the shooting currently being conducted.