10-year-old recounts fleeing as ICE operation unfolded near school bus stop in N.J.

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A 10-year-old lad recounted fleeing Thursday greeting arsenic a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation began adjacent his schoolhouse autobus halt successful Lindenwold, New Jersey, saying, "We each were scared."

Dylan, who is simply a U.S. citizen, told CBS News it started arsenic a mean time — until helium heard his classmates abruptly commencement shouting "ICE."

"Out of nowhere, radical conscionable commencement running, saying that ICE is implicit there, and everybody was running," Dylan said.

He told CBS News that agents started pursuing him arsenic helium ran home. In a location information video, Dylan is seen frantically banging connected the door, pleading for his ma to fto him in. He said helium was acrophobic ICE was trying get wrong his home.

Doorbell video from Woodland Village Apartments connected Clementon-Gibbsboro Road shows children moving done the parking batch connected Thursday morning. The Lindenwold School District said fourth- and fifth-graders were waiting astatine their autobus halt erstwhile an ICE cognition began astatine the complex.

The people of the probe was reportedly the genitor of 1 of the students astatine the autobus stop.

CBS News has reached retired to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

"The beingness of aggregate enforcement vehicles caused important fearfulness and confusion, and respective students ran from the autobus stop," the territory told families successful a societal media post Thursday morning. "Our autobus operator acted rapidly and responsibly, circling backmost aggregate times to guarantee arsenic galore children arsenic imaginable were safely transported to school."

"ICE Agents are NOT astatine the Lindenwold School District," the territory added.

Community members successful New Jersey gathered Friday day to protestation ICE. New Jersey Rep. Donald Norcross demanded much transparency, saying, "DHS has to travel forward, beryllium transparent. If you're doing 'the close thing,' past determination should beryllium nary problem."

Dylan, similar galore others astatine the school, said the incidental is hard to speech astir "because I consciousness similar they're conscionable going to travel retired of obscurity and instrumentality my parents."

Maria, a U.S. national whose children be the section school, has lived successful the country for much than a decade. She told CBS News the incidental follows accrued ICE enactment successful the neighborhood.

"There's a batch of kids close now, they're traumatized, they don't privation to spell to school," Maria said.

The schoolhouse territory said it's providing counseling to immoderate students who request it.

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