AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Police in the Denver suburb of Aurora say a Venezuela street gang with a small presence in the city has not taken over a rundown apartment complex — yet the allegation continues to gain steam among conservatives and was amplified by former President Donald Trump in a Wednesday Fox News town hall where he said Venezuelans were “taking over the whole town.”

The unsubstantiated allegation gained momentum following last month’s dissemination of video from a resident in the complex that showed armed men knocking on an apartment door, intensifying fears the Tren de Aragua gang was in control of the six-building complex

Aurora is a diverse city that has long grappled with crime and gangs, and police said they have so far linked 10 people to Tren de Aragua and arrested six of them, including the suspects in a July attempted homicide.

But in a visit to the apartments where the armed men were filmed, interim Aurora police chief Heather Morris said gang members had not taken over and weren’t collecting rent. The remarks came after Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said that “criminal elements” had taken over some unspecified buildings and were extorting residents.

In a Facebook post, Coffman said apartment manager CBZ Management told him that tenants were being forced to pay rent to gang members.

After residents held a news conference to speak out against the claims, Coffman, a Republican and former congressman, conceded he was “not sure where the truth is in all of this.” In an interview this week with Denver7 TV station, Coffman said the narrative that all of Aurora was unsafe was not true and harmful to the economic health of the rapidly growing city of more than 400,000 people.

Coffman wasn’t immediately available Thursday to speak about the situation.

Trump has sought to capitalize on concerns over immigration as he seeks a second term in November. At Wednesday night’s town hall, he repeated his call for mass deportations after overstating the gang situation in Aurora.

“Take a look at Aurora in Colorado, where Venezuelans are taking over the whole town, they’re taking over buildings, the whole town,” Trump said. “You saw it the other day they’re knocking down doors and occupying apartments of people.”

Among the nearly 1 million Venezuelan migrants who entered the U.S. in recent years were suspected gang members tied to police shootings, human trafficking and other crimes — yet there’s no evidence that the gang has set up an organizational structure in the U.S., Jeremy McDermott, the Colombia-based co-director of InSight Crime, told the Associated Press this summer. He published a recent report on Tren de Aragua’s expansion.

Social media posts about a video purporting to show migrants taking over a school bus in San Diego and a 911 call reporting Venezuelan migrants taking over an apartment building in Chicago have also gotten attention lately. Both were unsubstantiated.

Many of the immigrants from Venezuela and other Latin American countries who live in the Aurora complex say there are no gangs there, and they are being unfairly painted as criminals.

They pinned blame on New York-based CBZ Management for refusing to take care of bedbugs, rodents and constant water leaks despite monthly rent costing $1,200 or more. They fear they will be evicted like residents last month in a nearby apartment complex also run by CBZ that city deemed uninhabitable.

“The only criminal here is the owner of the building,” Moises Didenot, who is from Venezuela, said Tuesday through a translator at a news conference in a dusty courtyard at the complex

He showed reporters some mice he recently caught on sticky traps in the basement apartment he shares with his wife and 11-year-old daughter. Only two of the burners on their stove work, their ceiling fan is missing a blade and as soon as they clean their bathtub, mold quickly creeps back, he said.

CBZ didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment, and phone numbers listed for two apartment buildings owned by CBZ in Aurora were disconnected.

Aurora officials said in an Aug. 30 social media post that they were taking the Venezuela gang’s presence seriously and indicated more arrests were expected. They also said they would “continue to address the problems that the absentee, out-of-state owners of these properties have allowed to fester unchecked.”

The video helping fuel the unsubstantiated allegation showed armed men, including one holding a long gun, climbing up the stairs and knocking on an apartment door. The former residents who filmed it told KDVR-TV it was taken before a shooting at the complex on Aug. 18 in which the victim later died.

An Aurora Police Department spokesperson, Sydney Edwards, said that police have been in possession of the video and seized evidence seen in it. She said she could not comment further about an ongoing investigation.

Aurora police have also announced a task force with local, state and federal enforcement agencies to specifically address concerns about Tren de Aragua and other criminal activity affecting migrant communities.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — An investigation is underway after a man was found dead in a Spring-area neighborhood.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the man was found dead with possible trauma in the 17400 block of Colony Creek Drive.

ABC13 video from the scene shows a large law enforcement presence in the neighborhood.

The investigation into the man’s death is ongoing. Initially, authorities believed the man may have been hit by a vehicle but added that his injuries were not consistent with that.

Authorities said they are looking into whether the man suffered a medical emergency or if he was attacked.

Deputies did not release a description or say if they were looking for a suspect.

ABC13 spoke to a woman who lives in the neighborhood and believes she recognizes the victim. She said her son was walking their foster dog at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, when he saw the police activity.

“There are a few of us who, every morning and every evening and afternoon, we are running, biking, walking our dogs — he was part of that community. He would be saying ‘Hi’ to whoever says ‘Hi,'” neighbor Diana Molina-Armijo said. “So he was definitely someone in the community who was social, active, senior citizen. It’s a shocker to hear this is happening.”

She said the man she believes is the victim normally runs in the street.

“Our sidewalks recently have been worked on, but not all of them,” Molina-Armijo said. “And there’s a lot of bumps on the sidewalk, so a lot of us, including myself, sometimes are walking on the street so that we’re not hurting our feet, our ankles, and our knees.”

Gonzalez asked anyone with information to please call HCSO at 713-221-6000 or Crime Stoppers Houston at 713-222-TIPS.

CHICAGO — A woman in Illnois lost almost $1 million over several months to a scammer using the “pig butchering” technique.

Just as a farmer fattens up a pig for slaughter, in the scheme a scammer gains a victim’s trust over a long period of time, fattening them up, then goes in for the kill by stealing their life savings.

The FBI estimates the scams cost Americans nearly $4 billion in 2023 alone.

Erika DeMask had saved nearly $1 million in investment accounts; she is now in financial ruin.

“I had to tell my kids because they had no idea I had that kind of money,” she said.The video player is currently playing an ad.

In fact, she was forced to sell her Lombard, Illinois home and everything in it.

“This is my garage sale. The beginning of a mess,” DeMask said. “And it’s hard because a lot of the stuff; the glasses here belonged to my husband.”

Her husband passed away decades ago and recently DeMask met a man online.

“He said that he loved me,” she said. “Once he sent me a huge bouquet of flowers and the FBI said they were shocked that he did that.”

But the FBI said that tactic is just part of the fattening up stage.

“Fraudsters are going to fatten up the victims by putting more enticing the victims to put more money into an investment,” said James Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “And then they’re going to slaughter them by walking away and stealing their money.”

DeMask said her scammer was both charming and convincing,

“He’s working on an oil rig and something broke down. Can I send him $20,000? And I said, ‘Whoa.’ I said, ‘You know what? I need to pray about this,'” she said. “The second time I sent $35,000. Then two weeks later, another $35,000. His pastor is sending him $250,000. Can I match it? Which was a dumb thing.”

Over time that money sent reached nearly $1 million. DeMask said the scammer told her she would get double her money back in his investments. Instead, she now owes money back to her bank; cash which she took from her home equity loan. She also must pay taxes on her investment withdrawals.

“There’s $400 left. That’s it, $400,” she said.

She and her son said the money was taken out and sent via cashier’s checks or wire transfers through Fifth Third Bank.

“She was sending $100,000, $300,000, $50,000 at a time, and it was never brought up and stopped and checked,” said Ed DeMask.

They said when they filed reports with the FBI and Secret Service, agents told them that bankers should have spotted unusual patterns.

“I kept transferring money from Fifth Third from the investment accounts, they never questioned, ‘Why are you closing this whole account?'” Erika DeMask said.

But in this letter to DeMask, Fifth Third said it asks a series of questions that the customer must answer before a wire transfer is sent and that her answers provided “did not raise concern for potential fraud.”

Fifth Third told the I-Team, “The Bank meets applicable Red Flags provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA).”

The International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL, said many of these crimes originate out of scam compounds in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world.

The FBI said if you wire money or crypto there is little chance you will get it back, but if you report it to the FBI quickly, there is some hope.

“Our recovery asset team has had tremendous success in the last several years and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of,” Barnacle said.

Authorities were unable to recover DeMask’s losses, but she says what hurts more is letting go of her home, furniture, and other long-time memories, like a chalkboard built in the garage.

“This was here when we moved here and my grandson, Teddy, he’s the only one that ever wrote on there. And every time I looked at it, I have a hard time. A lot of things are going to be gone and its hard,” she said.

To avoid becoming a victim of a scammer, you should never send money to anyone you meet online, ever.

Also remember that financial institutions may allow you to add trusted contacts to your account so their bank can reach out to family members if there is suspicious activity.

GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — The man accused of shooting and killing a deputy constable who was on his way to work with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office was charged with murder on Thursday.

The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office said they asked that the suspect, Athir Murady, be denied bail. He’s charged with the felony offense of evading arrest.

Video from Wednesday shows Murady being walked to the jail. He has visible facial injuries after reportedly being bitten by a police K-9 during his arrest.

SEE ALSO: Man pulled from Galveston Bay during deputy murder manhunt identified, Galveston Co. DA says

ABC13 obtained new video showing Athir Murady being led to the Galveston County jail a day after he was pulled from the water in connection with a deputy’s murder.

Authorities say Murady got out of his own vehicle and ambushed Deputy Constable Maher Husseini while he sat in his SUV at a red light at Fondren Road and Richmond Avenue in southwest Houston on Tuesday afternoon.The video player is currently playing an ad.

Husseini was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sources tell ABC13 that Husseini had a camera in his car, which captured the killing. A Harris County prosecutor was in Galveston on Wednesday night to question the suspect.

Husseini’s funeral is being held on Thursday. He’s being remembered as an amazing human — someone who was loved and respected by many.

After the shooting, officials said Murady took off. He was captured, in part, thanks to an attentive Galveston deputy city marshal who was driving home when he spotted a vehicle matching the description of the suspect and called police.

Galveston police revealed that authorities might not have gotten to the suspect if it wasn’t for an eagle-eyed deputy city marshal who was heading home from work.

“I kind of watch it, and I kind of don’t want to watch it because I know what happened earlier in the day,” Sgt. Nick Yeley said. “We’re all family. We all wear a uniform. We’re all sisters and brothers in this, and when one of my brothers goes down, it hurts my heart, and I want to say his family is in our prayers. It’s hard for us.”

After he was spotted, Murady allegedly led deputies on a chase through a neighborhood, drove straight into Galveston Bay, and treaded water for about half an hour before being taken into custody 60 miles away from the initial shooting scene.

When a law enforcement boat finally got him out, police said he kept resisting, even after a police K-9 bit him.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Man accused of gunning down Pct. 4 deputy in custody after driving into Galveston Bay: Authorities

Only on 13, the new video shows the gunfire at a busy intersection in southwest Houston. After the tragic shooting, the suspect was found 60 miles away in Galveston Bay.

So far, it’s unclear if the suspect and Husseini knew each other. Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz said that is part of the investigation.

Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman said he promoted Husseini, who has been with the agency since 2021, a week ago.

Husseini’s brother told ABC13 he was married and leaves behind children.

“It’s too much. There’s total chaos in our communities and we got to get it fixed,” Herman said. “My mentality with law enforcement, and all of you know me, is to fight, fight, fight. The only thing these criminals understand is force.”

A public visitation and funeral service will be held for Husseini on Thursday at Masjid Alsalem Mosque, located at 16700 Old Louetta Rd. in Spring, beginning at 1:45 p.m.

Drivers in the area near Old Louetta Road at that time should prepare for a lot of traffic.

A condolence gathering will be held at the Arab American Cultural and Community Center at 10555 Stancliff Road in Houston from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of 90-year-old Navy veteran Nelson Beckett outside an assisted living facility in southwest Houston.

According to investigators, 21-year-old Kyliel Denzel Arceneauz was identified as the unknown suspect who assaulted Beckett before shooting him, stealing his car, and running over him as he fled the scene on Saturday afternoon.

RELATED: 90-year-old veteran dies after getting shot and ran over during robbery in SW Houston, police say

Authorities discovered Beckett lying in the parking lot with gunshot wounds. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police said they later found the stolen vehicle at an apartment complex on Dunlap Street, which led them to Arceneauz.

He was arrested on Tuesday on charges of capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and tampering with evidence.

Four people were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Another nine victims were taken to hospitals with injuries, the GBI said.

The suspect is alive and in custody, the GBI said. The suspect is a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Four people were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Senior Sergio Caldera, 17, said he was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots.

“My teacher goes and opens the door to see what’s going on. Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there’s an active shooter,” Caldera told ABC News.

He said his teacher locked the door and the students ran to the back of the room. Caldera said they heard screams from outside as they “huddled up.”

At some point, Caldera said someone pounded on his classroom door and shouted “open up!” multiple times. When the knocking stopped, Caldera said he heard more gunshots and screams.

He said his class later evacuated to the football field.

A grandmother was relieved to hear that her three grandchildren were safe after a school shooting in Winder, Georgia.

Kyson Stancion said he was in class when he heard gunshots and “heard police scream, telling somebody, ‘There’s a shooting going on, get down, get back in the classroom.'”

“I was scared because I’ve never been in a school shooting,” he told ABC News.

“Everybody was crying. My teacher tried to keep everybody safe,” he added.

Apalachee High School was “cleared for dismissal” and all other Barrow County Schools are on a “soft lockdown,” the Barrow County School District said.

“The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office says this is for the safety of everyone right now. Please do not visit your child’s school at this time. We cannot release students during a lockdown,” the school district said in a statement. “We will let you know as soon as BCSO says it is all clear for dismissal.”

Winder is about 45 miles outside of Atlanta. The school enrolls about 1,900 students.

Authorities provide update on shooting at Apalachee High School

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the shooting, according to the White House.

“Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed,” Biden said in a statement. “Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”

The president highlighted his work to combat gun violence, including signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law and launching the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But he stressed that more must be done.

“After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation,” Biden said. “We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart.”

Harris said at a campaign event in New Hampshire, “Our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families.”

Harris said at a campaign event in New Hampshire, “Our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families.”

“This is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies,” she said. “We have to end this epidemic of gun violence.”

“This is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election,” Harris said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “I’m devastated for the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. The Justice Department stands ready to provide any resources or support.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “I’m devastated for the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. The Justice Department stands ready to provide any resources or support.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he is “heartbroken.”

“This is a day every parent dreads, and Georgians everywhere will hug their children tighter this evening because of this painful event,” he said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with local, state, and federal partners to make any and all resources available to help this community on this incredibly difficult day and in the days to come.”

In Atlanta, authorities will “bolster patrols” around schools on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement.

“My prayers are with the high school students, staff and families affected by the senseless act of violence in Winder,” Dickens said.

Hours since the latest mass shooting in the country, House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer pushes back on whether mass shootings will be front and center in Congress.

So far in 2024 there have been 385 mass shootings as of September 4, including this latest one in Georgia, according to the ABC News data team.

This is Georgia’s 16th mass shooting so far this year.

This time last year there were 485 mass shootings.

The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one with four or more people injured or killed – not including the perpetrator – counted 656 Mass Shootings in 2023, 646 in 2022, 689 in 2021 and 610 in 2020.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.