http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2600096.html

U.S. Border Patrol seeks suspects near BR school

Advocate staff report
Published: Apr 8, 2006


A U.S. Border Patrol stop of a truckload of suspected illegal immigrants Friday provoked a scare at nearby Cedarcrest-Southmoor Elementary and the surrounding neighborhood.

Ronald Lafosse, patrol agent in charge of Baton Rouge’s Border Patrol office, said that when his agents stopped a truck on Interstate 12 near Airline Highway about 8:30 a.m., nine or 10 people jumped out of the back. They ran down the shoulder of the interstate but were blocked by a fence dividing the highway from Cedarcrest-Southmoor elementary, Lafosse said.

Principal Nancy Hammatt said some students were heading outdoors for an activity, but quickly returned inside, and the school went into lockdown for about an hour until she got the go-ahead to resume class. Meanwhile, school security officers and law enforcement agents walked the campus to make sure no one was hiding there, she said.

“It was actually pretty quiet,” Hammatt said.

No one was hurt and none of the people appeared to be armed, Lafosse said.

Later in the morning, Border Patrol agents arrested two people about a mile south of the school, but had yet to find the others they were chasing, he said.