Police in Aurora, Colorado, have detained five more immigrants in connection with an armed home invasion and kidnapping that occurred early Tuesday morning.
This brings to 19 the number of immigrants detained in the incident, in which two victims were assaulted, restrained and kidnapped in a Denver suburb.
An ICE spokesperson told FOX News Digital that the 16 people in custody have been identified as Venezuelan nationals in the United States without authorization and are “suspected to be members or associates of the Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua.” he said.
Torren de Aragua (TdA) is a violent international criminal group that has been terrorizing the residents of Aurora for over a year.
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This compilation shows alleged members of Torren de Aragua and its southern border. (Fox News/Border Patrol)
ICE officials said the 16 suspects “remain in ICE custody pending deportation proceedings and immigration hearings.”
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said Tuesday that the home invasion was “without a doubt a gang incident.”
However, Aurora Police Department Representative Joe Moylan told Fox News Digital that police are working to identify the suspect and have not yet been able to officially confirm whether the incident is gang-related.
Just before 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, there was an armed home invasion at The Edge at Raleigh Apartments in Aurora, where the victim was assaulted and taken to another apartment in the same complex. Police were dispatched after receiving the report.
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Gang unit officers search for evidence at an apartment at 12th and Dallas in Aurora, Colorado, on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. A home invasion was reported overnight and a residence was targeted. (Fox News Digital)
One of the victims, a man, suffered stab wounds but is expected to survive. Both victims are still hospitalized for treatment.
Moylan said Aurora police served additional warrants at the apartment complex late Tuesday afternoon, resulting in five more immigrants being taken in for questioning. He said police are working with federal authorities, including Homeland Security investigators, to help identify all those involved.
Moylan said the Aurora Police Chief will likely provide more details about the incident at another news conference once more details are confirmed.
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Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain speaks to the media during a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Aurora, Colorado (Derek Schock, Fox News Digital)
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Roger Hudson, a city councilor in the Castle Pines, Colorado, neighborhood who had contact with the apartment owners, told Fox News Digital that most people in the area believed Torren de Aragua was behind the attack. He said he was there. In recent months, gangs have become “stronger, more dangerous and more desperate,” he said.
Hudson blasted the protection policies passed by the state of Colorado and the city of Denver, saying they have made it more difficult for state and local law enforcement to protect Coloradans from things like TdA.
“These policies make our entire community less safe,” he said. “This is an illegal act in the West and it can’t happen. That’s not who we are as a country. That’s not who we are as a nation.”
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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