14 detained after armed home invasion at troubled Aurora apartment complex
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The Edge of Lowry apartments in Aurora earlier this year. Photo: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Aurora police say they detained 14 people Tuesday morning in connection with an armed home invasion, stabbing and kidnapping at an apartment complex recently embroiled in national political controversy.
The latest: A preliminary investigation suggests the crime is "100% gang activity," Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain said Tuesday.
- There is also a "high assumption" the suspects may be linked to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang known for human smuggling and money laundering, he said.
Why it matters: The resurgence of gang activity at the Edge at Lowry apartment complex could further fuel claims from Republicans — including President-elect Trump — that gangs are taking over Aurora, where Trump has vowed to launch his crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Catch up quick: Aurora police responded to a report of a violent home invasion just before 2:30am Tuesday.
- Between 13 and 15 suspects, mostly men, broke into an apartment where a man and woman were inside.
- The suspects moved the victims to another apartment, where they were bound and beaten, authorities said.
- The male victim was stabbed, suffering non-life-threatening injuries. The suspects later released both victims, who then called the police.
- Authorities say an investigation is underway — with the help of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — to determine the suspects' identities.
Context: The Edge at Lowry apartments, in the 1200 block of Dallas Street, became the center of a national firestorm earlier this year after a viral video showed armed men entering one of the apartments.
- Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky, a Republican, circulated the footage, calling attention to it and alleging the complex had been seized by Venezuelan gang members.
- Local authorities have maintained that gang members' influence is "isolated" and insisted the buildings haven't been taken over.
What's next: This month, Aurora officials proposed a deal to shutter five of the six buildings at the Edge Apartments due to unsafe conditions and persistent complaints.
- The property, owned by CBZ Management, has been plagued by complaints of neglect.
- CBZ — which is now under investigation by the Colorado Attorney General's Office over potentially violating safe-housing and consumer-protection laws — blamed the disrepair on Venezuelan gangs, claiming property managers abandoned the site out of fear.
- The sixth building, which has a different owner, will remain open, 9News reports.