Updated at 12:30 p.m.: Adds notes of voluntary lockdown of Nixon Elementary during search.
The passenger of a vehicle bailed on foot during a traffic stop near Mary Bragg Elementary School in Cerritos Thursday, prompting a containment search that led to students at the campus being kept inside their classrooms as a precaution.
The incident began about 10:30 a.m. Jan. 31 when a Cerritos deputy initiated a traffic stop at 195th Street and Gridley Road, Lt. Richard Harpham of the Cerritos Sheriff's Station told Patch.
At some point during the stop, a man inside the vehicle bailed on foot, triggering a containment search in the area that involved deputies on foot as well as a helicopter unit, he said.
"Once deputies started searching the area, Mary Bragg was contacted and a deputy was sent to the school for safety reasons," Harpham said. "The kids were kept inside the classroom to be safe."
The suspect was not located and the search was called off about 11 a.m., Harpham added, however a deputy remained at the school as a precaution.
Nixon Elementary School was also placed on voluntary lockdown, according to parents who were notified via the school's principal on Twitter.
The lieutenant said the driver of the vehicle was being detained while the investigation continued.
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