DENVER – Authorities arrested four people after police confiscated dozens of rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from hotel rooms next to the ballpark, which was hosting Major League Baseball All-Star events that weekend, law enforcement officials told ABC News.
The preliminary law enforcement assessment suggests the gun supply is linked to a possible illegal drug and weapon transaction, according to an internal law enforcement memo received by ABC News.
Sources said three men and one woman, all in their 40s, were arrested at 7:30 p.m. local time on Friday at the Maven Hotel in downtown Denver, one block from Coors Field.
Authorities said the suspects brought several rifles, ammunition, body armor and illegal drugs to rooms on the 4th and 8th floors of the hotel.
Gabriel Rodriguez, Ricardo Rodriguez, Richard Platt and Kanoelehua Serikawa appear in court in Denver this morning at 10:30 a.m. local time. Gabriel and Ricardo Rodriguez are each being held without bond.
The tip came from a maid who saw a rifle while cleaning one of the rooms.
That comes just a week later A housekeeper at a Chicago hotel reported finding a rifle in a room overlooking the city’s lakefront on July 4th.
After the 2017 Las Vegas massacre – in which an armed man killed 60 and injured hundreds by opening fire from his hotel room overlooking the Route 91 Harvest music festival – hotels were particularly vigilant to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
MLB All-Star Weekends draw tens of thousands of baseball fans to the host cities, and with the coronavirus restrictions easing, Denver was no exception.
Police sources admitted the threat posed by such firearms in the presence of large crowds, but have not yet identified a link to a mass shooting plan.
“We have no reason to believe that this incident was related to terrorism or any threat directed against the All-Star-Game. We are currently not aware of any threats to the All-Star-Game events, venues, players or the community. An FBI spokesman said in a statement.
According to the ABC partner KMGH, one of the suspects recently filed for divorce, saying he wanted to “go big”.
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