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BP incident causes lockdowns
By Carol Broeder & Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
The Willcox police chief says he was told a chase on Thursday began when a Border Patrol agent was nearly run over during a traffic stop on Interstate 10.
In a statement issued Friday morning, Willcox Police Chief Jake Weaver said the Border Patrol informed city police that the driver of the vehicle that had been stopped "attempted to run over a Border Patrol agent and another agent fired on the vehicle."
The driver left the vehicle and "fled on foot through a desert field toward the Willcox High School and Middle School campuses," he said.
A lockdown order was issued to the middle and high schools "for the safety of the students and faculty," Weaver said. "Willcox police established a perimeter and began searching the two campuses."
At about 11:15 a.m., police learned that a subject who fit the description of the driver "was seen running through the desert south east" about two miles from the scene.
City police officers responded to the area and saw the subject "running through the desert and relayed the location to the Border Patrol, who responded to the area and apprehended the subject," Weaver said.
The city's schools were locked down when Border Patrol agents reported an assault and at least one shot was fired after a vehicle was pulled over on Interstate 10 just after 8 a.m.
The suspect, described as a Hispanic man 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.
FBI Special Agent Manuel Johnson said the agency is investigating a report that a border agent was assaulted while apprehending a group of illegal immigrants.
The FBI is "not prepared to confirm that there were shots fired," Johnson said.
However, Rob Daniels, spokesman with the Border Patrol Tucson Sector, confirmed Thursday afternoon that, at some point during the incident, the Border Patrol agent fired at least one shot.
Sheriff's deputies assisted the Border Patrol and the Willcox Police Department in searching for the suspect.
No further information was available and other inquiries were deferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Phoenix.
The school district was notified to cancel the lockdown at about 11:20 a.m.
In a letter to parents sent home Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Dr. Richard Rundhaug, said, "Today, each of the Willcox Unified School District schools went into lockdown as a result of the Willcox Police Department informing of us of the possibility that individuals involved with a shooting were near our school property. As police searched for these individuals, we kept the campuses and students safe."
"We do have lockdown procedures that were followed," said Rundhaug, adding that they were developed in cooperation with the city's police department "and are regularly practiced."
"The individuals were apprehended and after we were informed of their apprehension, we returned to our normal routine," he said. "Throughout this process, we were in regular communication with the Willcox Police Department and responded to each need that came up."
Rundhaug reminded parents and community members not to come onto the campus during a lockdown.
"...it is important that the campus be free of visitors and parents wanting to pick up their children. During such situations, we are under police orders not to open any doors," he said "Parents who arrive on campus will not be greeted and could be placing themselves and students in danger. These individuals could also create confusion for police officer."
Rundhaug said that telephone calls to the campuses "should also be kept to a minimum so telephone lines can be kept free for emergency communication. After such an incident, we will inform the students and the parents of the situation just as we are doing through this letter."
"We again want to assure you that student safety in these situations is our highest priority and we will take all necessary steps to maintain each student's safety," he said.
In speaking with the Range News on Friday, Rundhaug said the middle school "had been given the opportunity to practice" a lockdown on Wednesday, the day before the incident.
"The teachers were debriefed following that lockdown and knew what to do Thursday. When I spoke with Chief Weaver after the lockdown (Thursday), we talked about the things we could do to improve safety. There were a few doors unlocked at the high school, and we'll correct that."
Rundhaug said the district will try to immediately move students at the middle and high schools into a "sustainable position," such as the gym or auditorium, as long as there is not an immediate threat, where they can use the restroom and receive water and food using minimal resources from law enforcement.
"We were ready to get the kids into a sustainable position (Thursday) when the individual was apprehended," he said. "The plan in the future is to do that if we believe it could be for more than a two-hour block."
At the elementary school, the "handful of classrooms without restrooms will be moved to classrooms with restrooms at the onset of a lockdown if possible, he said.
Cell phones will also be confiscated during lockdowns in the future, Rundhaug said, as their "use only creates more difficulties for us. Wild stories start and parents are calling the lines we need available for emergency communications. What we hope to do is set up instantaneous communication with parents through our Web site if possible, or another outlet, such as mass email, so parents know kids are safe and what is going on."
Further more formal debriefing was planned for Tuesday with Chief Weaver and school staff.
Denise Merkel, spokeswoman for Cochise College, said the Willcox campus also was put on lockdown during the incident.
The Willcox Elementary School, local preschools, several businesses and the hospital were also in lockdown.
In a statement issued Friday morning, Willcox Police Chief Jake Weaver said the Border Patrol informed city police that the driver of the vehicle that had been stopped "attempted to run over a Border Patrol agent and another agent fired on the vehicle."
The driver left the vehicle and "fled on foot through a desert field toward the Willcox High School and Middle School campuses," he said.
A lockdown order was issued to the middle and high schools "for the safety of the students and faculty," Weaver said. "Willcox police established a perimeter and began searching the two campuses."
At about 11:15 a.m., police learned that a subject who fit the description of the driver "was seen running through the desert south east" about two miles from the scene.
City police officers responded to the area and saw the subject "running through the desert and relayed the location to the Border Patrol, who responded to the area and apprehended the subject," Weaver said.
The city's schools were locked down when Border Patrol agents reported an assault and at least one shot was fired after a vehicle was pulled over on Interstate 10 just after 8 a.m.
The suspect, described as a Hispanic man 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.
FBI Special Agent Manuel Johnson said the agency is investigating a report that a border agent was assaulted while apprehending a group of illegal immigrants.
The FBI is "not prepared to confirm that there were shots fired," Johnson said.
However, Rob Daniels, spokesman with the Border Patrol Tucson Sector, confirmed Thursday afternoon that, at some point during the incident, the Border Patrol agent fired at least one shot.
Sheriff's deputies assisted the Border Patrol and the Willcox Police Department in searching for the suspect.
No further information was available and other inquiries were deferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Phoenix.
The school district was notified to cancel the lockdown at about 11:20 a.m.
In a letter to parents sent home Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Dr. Richard Rundhaug, said, "Today, each of the Willcox Unified School District schools went into lockdown as a result of the Willcox Police Department informing of us of the possibility that individuals involved with a shooting were near our school property. As police searched for these individuals, we kept the campuses and students safe."
"We do have lockdown procedures that were followed," said Rundhaug, adding that they were developed in cooperation with the city's police department "and are regularly practiced."
"The individuals were apprehended and after we were informed of their apprehension, we returned to our normal routine," he said. "Throughout this process, we were in regular communication with the Willcox Police Department and responded to each need that came up."
Rundhaug reminded parents and community members not to come onto the campus during a lockdown.
"...it is important that the campus be free of visitors and parents wanting to pick up their children. During such situations, we are under police orders not to open any doors," he said "Parents who arrive on campus will not be greeted and could be placing themselves and students in danger. These individuals could also create confusion for police officer."
Rundhaug said that telephone calls to the campuses "should also be kept to a minimum so telephone lines can be kept free for emergency communication. After such an incident, we will inform the students and the parents of the situation just as we are doing through this letter."
"We again want to assure you that student safety in these situations is our highest priority and we will take all necessary steps to maintain each student's safety," he said.
In speaking with the Range News on Friday, Rundhaug said the middle school "had been given the opportunity to practice" a lockdown on Wednesday, the day before the incident.
"The teachers were debriefed following that lockdown and knew what to do Thursday. When I spoke with Chief Weaver after the lockdown (Thursday), we talked about the things we could do to improve safety. There were a few doors unlocked at the high school, and we'll correct that."
Rundhaug said the district will try to immediately move students at the middle and high schools into a "sustainable position," such as the gym or auditorium, as long as there is not an immediate threat, where they can use the restroom and receive water and food using minimal resources from law enforcement.
"We were ready to get the kids into a sustainable position (Thursday) when the individual was apprehended," he said. "The plan in the future is to do that if we believe it could be for more than a two-hour block."
At the elementary school, the "handful of classrooms without restrooms will be moved to classrooms with restrooms at the onset of a lockdown if possible, he said.
Cell phones will also be confiscated during lockdowns in the future, Rundhaug said, as their "use only creates more difficulties for us. Wild stories start and parents are calling the lines we need available for emergency communications. What we hope to do is set up instantaneous communication with parents through our Web site if possible, or another outlet, such as mass email, so parents know kids are safe and what is going on."
Further more formal debriefing was planned for Tuesday with Chief Weaver and school staff.
Denise Merkel, spokeswoman for Cochise College, said the Willcox campus also was put on lockdown during the incident.
The Willcox Elementary School, local preschools, several businesses and the hospital were also in lockdown.
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