SOUTHWEST RANCHES, FLA. (WSVN) - Lockdowns at two schools in Southwest Ranches has been lifted following a traffic stop bailout involving a landscaping truck, authorities said.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the traffic stop took place in the area of South Flamingo Road and Southwest 51st Street, Wednesday morning.
Investigators said troopers had completed the traffic stop, and at some point, the driver of the truck took off in the direction of Saint Mark Catholic Church and School and Archbishop Edward McCarthy High School, located near Flamingo and 55th Street.
Witness Emily Smith said she had been driving by when she saw one person talking to law enforcement officers, but it was clear something more was going on.
“Just a lot of commotion,” she said.
Deputies and security personnel were seen manning what appeared to be a perimeter.
“Well, with the school nearby, I thought, you know, something serious, like very serious was happening — you know, a shooting or a bomb, a bomb threat or something,” said Smith. “So that’s what I thought what was happening, with the amount of officers that were there.”
The pursuit led to the lockdowns at both campuses.
“All of a sudden, I hear: ‘Attention, this is not a drill,'” said a student.
“It caused a little bit of chaos, you know, so early in the morning,” a concerned parent told 7News over the phone.
The Archdiocese of Miami confirmed the lockdowns were later lifted, and the schools resumed normal operations.
“I always get nervous, but I feel confident ’cause I know we have the best security here,” said a concerned parent.
“I mean, they had a plan, they put the plan to work and it seemed like everything went the way it was supposed to go,” said another parent.
A similar search was performed during an immigration operation near U.S. 27 in Weston earlier in February. In that case, federal and state agents combed the brush for three men who, they say, were driving a vehicle that was registered to an undocumented immigrant.
As for Wednesday’s traffic stop, it’s unclear if this was also another attempted immigration operation.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office did confirm that nobody has been taken into custody in connection to this traffic stop.
The owner of the landscaping company that owns the truck told 7News he was still trying to figure out what transpired and how to retrieve the vehicle. He does not know what happened to the other men who were inside the truck.
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