DENVER — Four people are in custody and a fifth person is still on the run following a crime spree Tuesday night that left a Denver student dead, according to an update from the Denver Police Department (DPD).
"While I cannot comprehend it, the best explanation we have at this point, is that this group of offenders went out and randomly assaulted, robbed, stole from, shot, and ultimately killed an individual that evening," said DPD commander Matt Clark.
In a tweet, DPD said they've arrested the following suspects:
- Isaiah Freeman, 18
- Seth Larhode, 21
- Aden Sides, 18
- Noah Loepp-Hall, 19
DPD identified the fifth suspect as 18-year-old Samuel Robert Fussell. A $27,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can help police find him, money police said came from community and family donations.
After conducting surveillance, investigators learned the suspects were at two locations. One was a home in the 3200 block of West Oxford Avenue in Sheridan and the other was a home in the 1300 block of South Umatilla Street in Denver. SWAT team members took the suspects into custody at both locations without incident Wednesday night.
At least one of the suspects was wanted on an escape warrant, but Clark said he was not aware of what facility that suspect had escaped from or when that escape warrant was issued.
"It appears from their statements that they may have met at a youth corrections facility," Clark said. "I believe the facility was Lookout Mountain."
They're all being held on charges of burglary, first-degree burglary, felony menacing, first-degree auto theft, first-degree assault, and first-degree murder. An arrest warrant has been issued for Fussell on those same charges.
The suspects were wanted in relation to a string of violent incidents, including a deadly shooting, that happened Tuesday night.
DPD said initially they were connected to five incidents but have since uncovered a sixth incident linked to the men. It's also possible, according to DPD, that they could be linked to other crimes around the metro area that did not occur on Tuesday.
The first of the six incidents happened around 10 p.m. Tuesday DPD Major Crimes Division Commander Matt Clark said, when police received a report of a car in a parking lot on the 2700 block of West Alameda Avenue being broken into.
Witnesses reported having a gun pulled on them while confronting the individuals breaking into a car before the suspects left the scene in a stolen dark blue 2020 Toyota Camry with license plate number AGN Z29. Police said no injuries were reported in this incident.
Officers were then called to a reported carjacking incident around 10:50 p.m. near the intersection of East Colfax Avenue and Grape Street.
The suspects arrived in the stolen Camry, and police said one entered the victim's 2018 Honda CRV with Colorado license plate number CGOW44. When the victim moved to confront the suspect in his CRV, the suspect pointed a gun at him, police said. No injures were reported in this incident.
DPD said Thursday a business burglary occurred around 11 p.m. on the 1300 block of East Colfax Avenue.
About 10 minutes after the burglary, police said a man was walking in the area of North Lafayette Street and East Colfax Avenue when he was approached by several men wearing masks, ordered to the ground and robbed. During the incident, the victim was shot by one of the suspects and he was transported to the hospital in critical condition but is expected to survive, police said.
Around 11:35 p.m., police were called to the Yeshiva Toras Chaim school on the 1500 block of North Stuart Street for a reported shooting. Investigators believe the victim was walking outside of the school when the suspects approached and began shooting at him, police said.
The victim was identified by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner as 18-year-old Shmuel Silverberg, a student at the school. He was taken to the hospital with multiple gunshot injuries where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
DPD said it's not clear if there was any interaction between Silverberg and the suspects. Police said Thursday they believe the victims were targeted at random so at this time have no reason to believe the killing of Silverberg was a bias-motivated crime.
"This is further supported by the offenders who agreed to be interviewed last night and early this morning," said Clark. "At this point, no one has made any mention of the victim's religion or any indication they were targeting the school or the Jewish community."
The following statement was released on behalf of Yeshiva Toras Chaim:
"Our Yeshiva Toras Chaim community is grief stricken at the killing of one of our students overnight. We are caring for our faculty, staff, students, and their families in the face of this tragic and incomprehensible act of violence. We are grateful for the support we are receiving from our Denver community and from around the country, and for the work of local law enforcement authorities who have made this their top priority. Our community is seeking solace and privacy at this time."
The next incident involving the suspects was a burglary at a Lakewood business, where DPD said a gray 1998 Toyota RAV4 with Colorado license plate number AGNZ29 was stolen.
DPD was also seeking information about the three vehicles involved, which are pictured below:
DPD said Thursday they later recovered the CRV in the 1200 block of South Tejon Street in Denver and recovered the Camry in Aurora. The RAV4 has not yet been located.
Investigators said it's also possible the suspects could be connected to other incidents around the metro area that occurred prior to Tuesday.
"The fact that we have a group of relatively young individuals that are willing to go on this type of rampage this type of violent spree in our community is not acceptable," said DPD Chief Paul Pazen. "We as a community to stand up and make sure it doesn't happen again in the future."
RELATED: Student killed in overnight Denver shooting
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers is notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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