Man Shoots Guard, Kills Self at Canadian Border

Shooter was trying to enter Canada from Washington
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2012 1:36 AM CDT
Man Shoots Guard, Kills Self at Canadian Border
Police investigate the scene of the shooting at the Blaine, Wash./Surrey, BC border crossing yesterday.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

A man in a vehicle with Washington state plates shot and critically injured a female Canadian border officer in her booth yesterday and killed himself immediately afterward. The Peace Arch crossing between Washington and British Columbia, the third-busiest US-Canada crossing, was closed for the rest of the day, the AP reports. The injured officer was shot in the neck and suffered serious injuries, Canadian police say.

Police say the shooter, whose identity has not been confirmed, was attempting to cross into Canada from the US. No motive for the shooting has been determined. Officials say this is the first shooting of a border guard in Canadian history. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said she had spoken to her counterpart in BC and pledged full cooperation with the investigation, Reuters reports. "Working closely together with British Columbia to protect our border, I consider Canadian officers an extension of our Washington family, " she said. (More Canada stories.)

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