Police chief says Colorado home not 'taken over' by Venezuelan gangs despite viral images

A gang does not operate an apartment complex in Colorado and tenants are not paying their members rent money, police said, despite speculation from the public after images of men carrying guns in the building went viral.

The Edge at the Lowry Apartments in Aurora, Colorado, was not “taken over” by gang members, interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris said in a video the department shared on Facebook on August 30.

“We've been talking to and learning from the residents here to find out exactly what's going on and it's definitely a different picture,” Morris said in the video. “I’m not saying there aren’t gang members in this community who aren’t alive.”

According to Morris, it's also not common for people to pay rent to gang members.

“We really believe they are serious about us,” the interim chief said of the apartment’s tenants.

USA TODAY contacted Aurora police on Tuesday but did not receive a response.

Tren de Aragua gang members confirmed in Aurora, Colorado

Rumors that the complex was run by the Tren de Aragua, a major Venezuelan criminal organization, began circulating when a video went viral showing men carrying weapons entering the apartments. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to NewsNation that the men seen in the video were members of Tren de Aragua.

The city of Aurora confirmed in an August 30 X post that there is a “small Tren de Aragua (TdA) presence” in Aurora and that police are “taking it seriously.”

“There has been a lot of misleading information spread about what is happening in our city. Aurora is a safe community,” the post said. “The media has conflated and significantly exaggerated incidents that were limited to a handful of problem subjects.”

City officials said they would “address the issues that have allowed the absentee, out-of-state owners of these properties to fester uncontrollably,” the X post said. The city will also “aggressively pursue all actions available under the city code and criminal code,” the post continued.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman wrote in a Facebook post on August 30 that the city would seek an emergency order to evict the apartments.

“The Aurora City Attorney's Office is preparing court documents to seek an urgent court order to vacate the residential properties where Venezuelan gang activity has occurred by designating the properties as a 'criminal nuisance,'” Coffman said. “… I firmly believe that the best course of action is to close these buildings and ensure that something like this never happens again.”

Task Force was formed to reach out to Tren de Aragua members in Aurora

Aurora police have arrested a 22-year-old TdA member in connection with a July 28 shooting, according to the city's X-Post. He is currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to city officials.

The city and Aurora police, in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other local, state and federal agencies, have established a special task force to “specifically address concerns regarding the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and other criminal groups.” Activities “impacting migrant communities,” the department said in an Aug. 28 X post.

“Aurora is a safe place”

Discussions about the Aurora apartment have become widespread on social media platforms such as TikTok, where one user's one-minute clip garnered over 14 million views.

“What’s going on in Aurora, Colorado should be one of the biggest news stories in the country right now,” user Millennial_Rant said in an Aug. 30 post.

Milennial_Rant claimed the tenants were “allegedly trapped” and being “held hostage in their own homes” by the gang. He also said the gang “loots places like Target and stores.”

Despite the viral post and others sharing similar views, city officials maintain that “Aurora is a safe place to live, work and visit,” the Aug. 30 X post said.

“Visiting grocery stores, parks, schools, banks, malls, visiting neighbors, and other everyday activities remain unchanged,” the social media post said. “…It is tragic that select individuals and organizations have misrepresented our city based on isolated incidents. We encourage you to build our community and not let the hysteria of others destroy it.”

Misinformation is spreading to other cities

Similar claims that migrants took over a Chicago apartment building on Monday night went viral after Elon Musk released a recording of the original 911 call.

The caller claimed “32 Venezuelans enter the building with guns in the yard and also have motorcycles in the yard,” according to a recording of the call archived by CrimeIsDown, an organization that maintains a database of emergency calls from Chicago.

Chicago police confirmed they received the call and dispatched officers to the South Side apartment building, but found nothing worthy of a police visit report.

However, that did not stop the allegations from sparking tensions locally.

South Side Councilwoman Jeanette Taylor said her office was “bombarded” Tuesday morning with calls from residents and even some personal visitors berating staff over the allegations.

According to the city, over 40,000 people have arrived in Chicago since Texas Governor Greg Abbott began sending migrants to Chicago in August 2022. In response, the city set up migrant shelters in Chicago neighborhoods, causing tensions between longtime residents and newcomers.

Taylor described the bogus call as an attempt to stoke tensions.

“They’re trying to start a race war,” she said. “The goal is to widen the divide in the city of Chicago.”

The South Side councilwoman criticized X, formerly known as Twitter, for its role in spreading the claims.

“It's distracting and it's really pathetic that X would share this without doing his own research,” she said. “Honestly, social media is a detriment to our community and I'm tired of billionaires allowing people to just post anything that causes confusion.”

Musk's post has been viewed over 12 million times. In it, he shared the original post from an account affiliated with the far right that also spread claims that Venezuelan gangs had taken over the Colorado home. The account's post about the Chicago apartment building has been viewed over 15 million times.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aurora, Colorado apartment not 'taken over' Venezuelan gang: Police