Kids walking to Turman Elementary on Friday morning ran into masked men with guns who claimed to be immigration officials, according to Harrison School District 2, which says the school locked down for less than 20 minutes while staff scrambled to get every student inside safely.
The district told KRDO that men identifying themselves as immigration officials were parked in unmarked vehicles near the school during morning drop-off and approached students on their walk in, claiming they were looking for someone in the neighborhood. According to KRDO, students reported that masked men with weapons aggressively approached them, leaving many feeling uncomfortable and unsafe. Superintendent Dr. Wendy Birhanzel said the men were posturing across the street with guns, standing on trucks and talking about ICE.
Kids With No Bus Caught in the Middle
The timing made the encounter especially fraught. Turman Elementary has no general-education bus transportation, meaning most students either walk to school or are dropped off by parents, per the district’s own account. That leaves families with few alternatives when something disrupts the morning walk, and it is part of why the district moved quickly to bring every student inside as a precaution once staff learned what was happening.
District security arrived to make sure everyone was safe, and the school remained on secure status for less than 20 minutes before returning to normal. Turman sent an email to parents and staff reassuring them the school was safe and operating normally, adding that immigration officials did not approach the school itself or attempt to enter the building. Students continued learning as usual once the secure status lifted, but the district reported low attendance in the aftermath.
No Agency Claims Involvement
KRDO reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ask whether the agency was involved, and a spokesperson said ICE was still working on a statement. Meanwhile, several local and federal agencies have already ruled themselves out. The Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation and United States Marshals Service each confirmed to the outlet that they were not involved in the incident…