BLACK FOREST, Colo. (KOAA) — One teenager in Black Forest witnessed the moments ICE clashed with construction workers early Thursday morning. She is now sharing her story of what she saw and heard with News5.
As we have reported, ICE officers came to a new housing development near Aspen Valley Road and Poco Road on Thursday morning around 8:30 a.m.
Neighbors said that's when they saw construction workers from different job sites begin to run. Then, two men tried to ram ICE officers with a car and one of the officers shot at them, according to an ICE spokesperson.
On Friday, News5 spoke with a family who lives down the street from where it all took place. Their daughter shared with us everything she heard and saw.
“It was just really shocking and surprising that that was happening in our neighborhood,” said Kailee Woo.
Early Thursday morning, Woo was woken up by several loud noises.
“I heard like, a couple of loud bangs. But I didn't really know, like, what to think of it. I just thought that it could have been construction, because there's been construction happening here a lot,” said Woo.
Construction crews are building several homes on her block, so sounds like this seemed normal to Woo.
“So, I didn't really think anything of it until I heard screaming,” said Woo.
That's when Woo said she looked out her bedroom window.
“I was looking and then I saw a man coming out of my neighbor's house in the front over here,” said Woo. “it looked like he was in a hurry. I didn't know what it was like, I didn't know why. I didn't really question it, because I just see a lot of construction workers over here all the time.
Her neighbor's home security video caught it all on camera and shared it with News5. The video shows a man jump the fence of a home and hiding under a grill cover. The homeowner said he hid there for at least two hours before entering the house.
A different angle shows several minutes later, the man walking out the front door. We have been unable to verify if this is one of the two men ICE officers are looking for from the ramming incident.
Woo said she watched as the man walked out of the house and got into a white vehicle.
“Yes, there was a white car out in the front, and he went in there. But there's always, like, a bunch of vehicles on this road for the construction. So, I just thought he was, you know, doing his normal thing,” said Woo.
Now a day later, neighbors said things have calmed down and are a lot quieter.
“I do feel safe, especially like my parents, I know that they're going to do their best to keep us safe too, and... they're taking extra precautions now, so I think we are safe here,” said Woo.
Woo and other neighbors said they are double checking to make sure their doors are locked.
Several neighbors near Vollmer Road told News5 they have not seen any police cars or law enforcement in the area on Friday.
One woman said she can normally hear loud music and bangs coming from the construction sites near her home, but that's not the case on Friday, saying it was quiet and calm. She said things have been a lot more peaceful compared to Thursday.
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