The Fullerton Police Department assisted federal immigration agents in response to what they described as an immediate public-safety threat at an apartment complex across the street from Woodcrest Elementary School on January 22, 2026. In a statement from the Fullerton Police Department (FPD) that was released on Facebook at 9am the same morning, the department received a call from a reporting party who heard multiple sirens and believed that police officers were in pursuit of a vehicle in the S. Highland Ave area.
According to the statement, the caller also reported seeing a male subject, whom the caller described as a male Hispanic, wearing a white shirt, armed with a handgun, jumping fences in the area. As the Fullerton Police knew that they were not in pursuit of a suspect in the area, they dispatched officers to respond immediately. Upon arrival, the FPD was flagged down by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent, who confirmed that a male subject had fled from them and was armed with a handgun.
The statement goes on to state that, due to the potential threat posed by an armed suspect in the area, FPD officers quickly set up a perimeter to prioritize the public safety of residents and officers. At the same time, ICE Agents, wearing masks and vests with POLICE written on the back, searched for their suspect.
In situations involving a reported armed suspect near a school, law enforcement agencies typically prioritize school notifications, lockdowns or shelter-in-place orders and assume direct control of the search to mitigate risk to the public. For example, on March 28, 2025, when Fullerton Union High School and nearby campus areas were temporarily locked down after a water gun was mistaken for a firearm.
In this case, however, nearby schools were not advised to take similar precautions. According to Deputy Superintendent Chad Hammitt, police contacted the district at 7:45 am. They informed him that a suspect was at large, but there was no mention of a weapon and no direction to protect students or staff. The Superintendent noted that the police followed proper protocols during the incident on Friday, January 23. Golden Hill was placed on lockdown, and Maple School was instructed to shelter in place after the district received reports of armed robbery suspects in the areas of Lemon & Orangethorpe to Malvern & Euclid.
At the same time, the police department’s public statement indicates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents led the search for the suspect, while Fullerton officers remained on site performing logistical tasks, including towing the suspect’s abandoned vehicle, which was obstructing traffic.
Taken together, the department’s stated justification and its on-scene actions are difficult to reconcile. If officers believed an armed suspect posed an immediate threat near a school during morning hours, the absence of school safety measures, combined with the delegation of search efforts to ICE, raises serious questions about how that threat was assessed in real time.
California law allows local police to assist federal immigration enforcement only under narrow circumstances involving an immediate threat to public safety. That exception is not discretionary; it hinges on the presence of an actual, ongoing danger. Whether that threshold was met in this case depends not only on what was reported but also on how the situation was handled operationally.
The question is not whether officers acted with good intentions, but whether the explanation offered aligns with the actions taken. Until those gaps are addressed, the public is left with a justification that does not match observable reality.
There is no information on whether the alleged gunman was located, nor when the threat was determined to be over, as ICE does not report to FPD.
Here are the stories from past incidents of a gunman near schools.
Share this:
Discover more from Fullerton Observer
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Community Voices, Local Events, Local Government, Local News
