Colorado Springs nightclub bartender killed in shooting was native of Berks County

KEMPTON, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The family of Derrick Rump remembers him as a generous, loving man.

"He would go out of his way to lift someone's spirits, put a smile on their face," said Rump's brother-in-law Michael Kissling.

Rump brought a lot of those smiles to Club Q in Colorado Springs where he worked as a bartender.

"He picked up bartending. He found a community of people he loved very much. And he felt that he could shine there, and he did," said Rump's sister Julia Kissling.

She was overcome by grief sitting alongside her husband and mother while talking about Rump. They found out about the tragedy the way no one should find out: on social media.

"It was a matter of calling and calling him and praying it wasn't him," said Michael Kissling.

It was something they never anticipated for the kind-hearted 38-year-old who grew up in Kempton, Berks County. He went to Kutztown High School and moved to Colorado Springs about 10 years ago.

"I asked him so many times to come home," said his sister. "And he was like, 'This is where my heart is.'"

SEE ALSO: Suspect facing murder, hate crime charges in Club Q, Colorado Springs shooting

It was while doing what he loved that Rump lost his life.

A gunman opened fire inside the LGBTQ nightclub Saturday night, killing five people, including Rump. Several others inside the club were injured in the gunfire.

According to the Action News Data Journalism Team, it was the ninth hate crime shooting in the U.S. this year. Those shootings have claimed 20 lives.

The shooting happened on the eve of Trans Day of Remembrance, a solemn occasion the Community College of Philadelphia marked on Monday afternoon, with an event featuring a raising of the Transgender Flag on campus.

Civil Rights Advocate Kendall Stephens, who self-identifies as a transgender woman, shared her personal story on how hate impacted her life.

"A group of (transphobic people) burst into my home and beat me within a half inch of my life," she says of the attack which happened in Philadelphia in 2020.

SEE ALSO: Philadelphia community reacts to deadly shooting at Colorado LGBTQ nightclub

Stephens, who is the former president of Community College of Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ Club, thinks the violence is pushed by false narratives.

"Very often, trans people are painted in a very negative or devaluing image," she said.

It's the same way Ian Morrison says drag queens can be falsely portrayed. Drag queens had been performing on the night of the attack at Club Q.

"It's heart-wrenching to know that this still happens," said Morrison who is the creator of Drag Queen Story Time and who performs as Brittany Lynn, one of Philadelphia's most well-known drag queens.

Morrison focuses on changing the narrative.

"With Drag Queen Story Time, we read stories about love, diversity and acceptance," he said. "It's amazing to be able to do this to a generation that's so accepting and open-minded."

That message of acceptance is the same one Derrick Rump's family wants to share.

"It doesn't matter what you feel in life, hate is not the way to go," said Michael Kissling.

Rump's family hopes his kind spirit will live on.

"Derrick was just a kind, loving good-hearted person," said Michael Kissling.

The suspect in the Colorado shooting is charged with hate crimes for targeting people in the LGBT community. It's something local activists are pushing for. They want to have LGBTQ people included as a protected class under Pennsylvania hate crime laws. They say the Club Q shooting is proof of the need.