Three police officers were injured apprehending half a dozen suspects accused of kidnapping two people in Danbury on Sunday, beating one of them with a baseball bat before they were later found bound with duct tape in a van.
All six suspects, who have not been identified, are residents of Florida and face assault and kidnapping charges, according to the Danbury Police Department. Police said they believe both kidnapping victims were targeted, though the motive for the abductions remains unclear.
Officers were dispatched to the area of Clapboard Ridge Road near Dogwood Lane around 5:40 p.m. on Sunday on the report of a disturbance and were told by a witness that three males exited a van and assaulted a man before pushing him into the van and leaving the area, according to police.
Responding police spotted the van and tried to stop it, but the driver sped away, police said.
The van was later found not far away on Cowperthwaite Street. According to police, two victims were inside who were bound with duct tape. One of them had been beaten with a baseball bat, according to police.
Both victims were taken to an area hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, police said.
According to police, witnesses in the area said six suspects left the Cowperthwaite Street area on foot, prompting a search by patrol officers. Police said they quickly found four suspects and took them into custody. Three officers suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening during the search and subsequent apprehensions, according to police.
Police said they later found the two other suspects in a short-term rental home in Roxbury.
All six suspects were charged with first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping and reckless endangerment, police said.
“It appears that the victims were specifically targeted but the exact motive is not known at this time,” Danbury police said in a statement.
Police are still investigating and asking anyone with information detectives at 203-797-4662 or the department’s anonymous tip line 203-790-TIPS (8477).
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