B.C. border guard shot: CBSA
Posted October 16, 2012 5:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Canadian border guard has been shot at the Douglas crossing in Surrey, B.C., and the crossing has been closed.
Vic Toews, minister of public safety, said in a statement he was deeply concerned about news of the shooting.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and colleagues of this border service officer,” the statement said without providing the condition of the guard who was shot.
“This event is a sobering reminder of the dangerous conditions faced daily by the men and women of our law enforcement agencies as they work to protect the safety and security of Canadians.”
A spokeswoman with the Canada Border Services Agency said traffic was being diverted around the crossing, also known as the Peace Arch crossing.
Kevin McAllister, assistant general manager at the Peace Portal Golf Course, which is adjacent to the crossing, said an employee and several guests reported to him that they heard shots fired at around 2 p.m.
“Two shots were fired,” he said. “We’ve heard fire, police, ambulance heading southbound on (Highway) 99, which is probably about a couple hundred yards from the 18th green. So that’s what they heard when all hell broke loose.”
McAllister said he also heard and saw a police helicopter hovering over the 10th and 11th fairways, which are the closest fairways to the highway and the border crossing.
He said the helicopters stopped about 2:40 p.m.
“Staff are coming in, talking about it,” he said.
Kelsie Carwithen, a spokeswoman with the B.C. Ambulance Service, said one air and two ground ambulances were on the scene.
She said the service was called just before 2 p.m., but couldn’t provide further details.
Lisa Moeller, public affairs for the police department in Blaine, Wash., said members were helping the Washington State Patrol in closing Interstate 5 at exit 275 and diverting traffic to the nearby truck crossing.
A provincial travellers’ report says Highway 99 is closed in both directions two kilometres north of the Washington border.
The Peace Arch border point is the third busiest crossing between Canada and the United States.
An average of 3,500 cars pass through the crossing on a slow day, and during peak periods about 4,800 vehicles will move through the border.
During those peak periods, border delays can reach four hours on either side of the border.
