Viral images captured the moments when fourth and fifth graders suddenly took off running in all directions as they were waiting for their school bus on Thursday morning.
The students ran after spotting ICE agents at the Woodland Village Apartment Complex near their bus stop on Feb. 12.
Hugo Coello told NBC10 that he is the man the federal agents were looking for but were unable to detain him.
“My feeling is no good, you know, for it’s a big problem,” Coello said. “I stay in this country for 21 years and I don’t have no problems.”
He said this is not the first time immigration officers have targeted him or others living on the property.
“The immigration guy comes for the property every day in the morning and at night,” according to Coello.
One of the videos obtained by NBC10 on Thursday appears to show federal agents standing outside of an apartment unit which Coello said he was inside of while his 10-year-old son was outside.
His son was among the children who were too frightened to go to school on Thursday morning.
Coello told NBC10 that he is an undocumented immigrant from Honduras.
DHS claims Coello fled vehicle stop
In a statement on Sunday morning, a spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security told NBC10 that Coello “fled from law enforcement” and ran into an apartment.
“When ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Newark officers attempted to conduct a vehicle stop of Coello, he refused to pull over and got stuck in school bus traffic,” The DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “He fled from law enforcement and ran inside one of the apartments on site. For their safety and that of the community, officers left the apartment complex without completing the arrest. Coello is still at large.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Coello has a criminal history that allegedly “includes assault, strangulation, aggravated assault, theft, receiving stolen property and reckless endangerment.”
Community protests ICE activity in South Jersey
A rally happened at Borough Hall in Lindenwold, New Jersey, as community gathered in a peaceful solidarity march to speak out against ICE and support their immigrant neighbor on Friday, Feb. 13.
Families in Lindenwold said that they are concerned and outraged after yesterday’s actions at the Woodland Village Apartment Complex on Feb. 12.
“How are they gonna learn in school when they’re constantly looking over their shoulder and wondering if they’re coming to get me and my mom my dad’s not here? It’s horrible,” Fran Tribbett said.