News
Willcox Schools locked down after Border Patrol incident on I-10
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| Two U.S. Border Patrol agents are led by a K-9 during a search for a suspect involved in an incident involving gunfire on I-10. (Dave Brown / Arizona Range News) |
By Carol Broeder and Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
Willcox-area schools were locked down Thursday morning when Border Patrol agents reported shots fired after a vehicle was pulled over on Interstate 10 just after 8 a.m., said Carol Capas, public information officer with the Cochise County Sheriff's Department.
The suspect, described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, fled the vehicle on foot, and was caught three hours later south of the Twin Lakes Golf Course in Willcox, about two miles from I-10.
Sheriff's deputies assisted the Border Patrol and the Willcox City Police in searching for the suspect.
At some point during the incident, the agent fired at least one shot, according to Rob Daniels, spokesman with the Border Patrol Tucson Sector.
No further information was available and other inquiries were deferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Phoenix.
FBI Special Agent Manuel Johnson told the Range News that the agency is investigating a report that a Border Patrol agent was assaulted while apprehending a group of illegal immigrants Thursday morning.
The FBI is "not prepared to confirm that there were shots fired," Johnson said.
The suspect had run toward the middle and high schools, prompting the lockdown. The schools remained locked down until shortly after the man was apprehended at about 11:09 a.m.
The suspect, described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, fled the vehicle on foot, and was caught three hours later south of the Twin Lakes Golf Course in Willcox, about two miles from I-10.
Sheriff's deputies assisted the Border Patrol and the Willcox City Police in searching for the suspect.
At some point during the incident, the agent fired at least one shot, according to Rob Daniels, spokesman with the Border Patrol Tucson Sector.
No further information was available and other inquiries were deferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Phoenix.
FBI Special Agent Manuel Johnson told the Range News that the agency is investigating a report that a Border Patrol agent was assaulted while apprehending a group of illegal immigrants Thursday morning.
The FBI is "not prepared to confirm that there were shots fired," Johnson said.
The suspect had run toward the middle and high schools, prompting the lockdown. The schools remained locked down until shortly after the man was apprehended at about 11:09 a.m.
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