14 suspects detained in home invasion, kidnapping at Colorado apartments where viral video surfaced

 Aurora police detained 14 suspects early Tuesday morning after officers responded to a report of a home invasion with weapons. This happened at The Edge at Lowry Apartments, the same apartment complex where a viral video surfaced earlier this year showing suspects terrorizing residents with weapons. That video prompted President-elect Donald Trump to target the city in his deportation plan during a campaign stop earlier this fall. 

Just before 2:30 a.m., officers responded to a report of an armed home invasion involving a stabbing and kidnapping at an apartment in the 1200 block of Dallas Street. 

According to police, the preliminary investigation suggests several suspects, 13 males and possibly three females, entered an apartment at 1258 Dallas Street occupied by two people at about 8:45 p.m. Monday. Investigators say the suspects moved the victims to another apartment building on the property, 1268 Dallas Street, where they were threatened, bound, and assaulted. An adult male sustained a non-life-threatening stab wound during the incident. 

"The victims were held against their will, they were bound, both the male and the female, they were pistol-whipped, they were beaten, they were victimized, they were terrorized," said Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain during a news conference on Tuesday morning. 

During the time they were held, Chamberlain said the suspects went to the victims' apartment and "burglarized and took over that apartment... taking items of value that belonged to the victims."

Police said the victims were held for several hours until they convinced the suspects to release them, promising to not call authorities. 

Chamberlain said the victims were released just before 2 a.m. and left the property for a friend's residence in another area of Aurora where they called 911. Multiple Aurora police officers arrived at the apartment complex and detained 14 suspects as other officers interviewed the victims. Those suspects have not been identified.

It is unclear what led up to the victims being kidnapped. The victims were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. 

"This is an incredibly problematic complex, it is an incredibly crime-riddled complex that I think we have been focusing on, the City of Aurora has been focusing on, and without question, attention will not stop until every individual who victimizes somebody else will be held accountable or be removed from that complex," said Chamberlain. 

The Aurora Police Department has not clarified whether the suspects are tied to a gang from Venezuela however Chamberlain did say they will find out if the suspects involved in the kidnapping and assault are affiliated with that gang. 

"We are not going to rest until we verify that every individual involved is in custody," said Chamberlain. "Based on the actions that I saw, based on how this event unfolded this is 100% gang activity."     

This is the same apartment complex at the center of a viral video that showed suspects terrorizing residents in September. President-elect Trump announced "Operation Aurora" after the video showing men with guns at the apartment building went viral. 

Chamberlain also confirmed that the victims are immigrants from the Venezuelan community and that everyone involved is either undocumented or an immigrant from that community. 

"The Aurora Police Department, we will not tolerate this type of behavior by anybody. We will not allow the victimization of our community members, whether documented or undocumented to occur," said Chamberlain.  

He also talked about the bigger issue of thousands of immigrants arriving in the city and the lack of resources available for the population, "We're talking about 40,000... 35,000 Venezuelans  that were brought into the city of Aurora and dropped into it." 

"This is not a political discussion. Law enforcement is not political but I was very clear on what I saw as a law enforcement practitioner and how these individuals were brought into this country and the complete disregard for how they were treated," said Chamberlain.      

He went on to say that the Aurora Police Department will do everything in its power to hold those involved accountable and that "It's going to be done within the Constitution of the United States, how these individuals were brought into this country and the complete disregard for how they were treated as human beings when they got here."

Earlier this month, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman accused Denver Mayor Mike Johnston of "human dumping," saying he placed migrants in Aurora apartment complexes without the city's knowledge. Coffman has filed an open records request after he says Johnston refused to turn over information about the city's handling of migrants, including contracts with nonprofits in charge of housing them.

On Tuesday, Coffman released this statement, I echo the strong words Chief Todd Chamberlain expressed in his news conference this morning regarding a suspected gang-related home invasion and kidnapping incident that occurred overnight. Today's swift and decisive action to apprehend the 14 probable gang suspects, and maybe more, demonstrates precisely why we brought the chief here and why he has my full support.

We have and will continue to protect members of our community and aggressively pursue anyone who tries to victimize them no matter who they are or where they come from.  As Chief Chamberlain said, Aurora, like every other major city across the country, must tackle crime – especially concentrated pockets of crime – aggressively. But as I have said repeatedly, specific bad actors and problematic properties do not reflect on this city as a whole.