As Trump shines spotlight on Aurora, Colorado, mayor calls Venezuelan gang's claims 'vastly exaggerated'

the Republican mayor of Aurora, Colorado, said earlier President Donald Trump rally Friday in the city was an opportunity to “show him and the nation” that Aurora “is not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs.”

mayor Mike Coffman made the statement on Tuesday after the former president made misleading claims for weeks that the city was a “war zone” overrun by members of a Venezuelan gang.

Last month Presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump pointed to Aurora as evidence that immigrants are “forcibly” taking over the city. “Look at Aurora, Colorado. They take over the cities. They’re taking over buildings,” Trump said.

Coffman said concerns about gang activity have been “vastly exaggerated.” He said the “incidents were limited to several apartment complexes in this city of more than 400,000 residents.”

Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in a Sept. 20 press conference that the city would “under no circumstances be overrun by Venezuelan gangs.”

At the center of claims of a gang takeover is a viral video showing gunmen entering an apartment in Aurora on August 18. A 25-year-old man was fatally shot in the incident, police said.

A city councilwoman shared the video on Facebook, claiming a gang had taken over “entire apartment complexes” in the city. Sharing a screenshot of the video, Coffman said the city was working to “apply for an emergency order to clear the residential buildings where Venezuelan gang activity has occurred.”

However, after patrolling the complex, police said gang members had not taken over the building and residents were not paying rent to the gangs. Coffman also visited the building and said tenants told him they had no safety concerns but were alarmed about the “accumulation” of trash and a “rodent infestation.”

Coffman said tenants told him they hadn't paid rent because “there was no longer an on-site property manager to always collect rent.” Coffman said initial reports of a gang takeover came from property management company CBZ Management. CBS News reached out to CBZ management and did not receive a response.

The mayor and councilwoman released a statement on Sept. 11 “cleaning the record” and saying that gang members had not “taken over” the city.

As of September 20, police said they had no information that would lead them to believe the men in the video were gang members.

Chamberlain said Aurora, like any other city, has crime and gang activity. Police said they have set up a special task force with local, state and federal officers to crack down on gang activity.

Police said they had linked ten people to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and eight of those people had been arrested by September 11. However, Chamberlain said it was “very complex” to identify suspects as gang members, adding it had been “a struggle”.

“The one thing I really want to be careful about in this whole discussion is that this is about criminal behavior, not immigration status,” Chamberlain said.