The criminal justice system failed in this case as it has for so many others over and over again. It particularly fails when it comes to people with ‘mental illness.’ There is no system for dealing with it:

A judge dismissed the 2021 kidnapping case against the suspect in the Colorado gay nightclub shooting even though she had previously raised concerns about the defendant stockpiling weapons and explosives and planning a shootout, court transcripts obtained Friday by The Associated Press reveal.

Relatives, including the grandparents who claimed to have been kidnapped, had also told Judge Robin Chittum in August last year about Anderson Aldrich’s struggles with mental illness during a hearing at which the judge said the defendant needed treatment or “it’s going to be so bad,” according to the documents.

Still, no mention was made during a hearing this July of the suspect’s violent behavior or the status of any mental health treatment.

He even made a bomb threat but was allowed to walk the streets a free man until the shooting in November. How was that possible?

Colorado gay club shooter tried to reclaim guns seized after 2021 bomb threat but prosecutor says they were not returned.