Juvenile says he was kidnapped, duct taped to chair, assaulted in potential gang crime

Spokane police officers responded to an assault investigation in north Spokane just before midnight on Friday and discovered a potential gang-related kidnapping.

The juvenile victim said he was kidnapped, duct taped to a chair and assaulted by two people. He said the kidnappers accused him of stealing a cellphone, wallet and a handgun, though the juvenile denied taking any of those items, according to a Spokane Police Department news release.

To avoid further injury, the victim said he convinced the suspects to take him to his grandmother’s house so he could get them some money. They drove him to a home in the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood.

When they arrived, he went inside and told his grandmother to call police. The suspects fled, the release said.

Spokane police responded at his grandmother’s house.

Initial investigation findings indicate the juvenile might know the suspects and that the suspected kidnapping could be a gang-related crime. The investigation is ongoing, according to the release.