Close X
Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADVT 
National

Man Shot By US Border Patrol Agent Near BC Border Wanted For Murder, Assaulted Agent With Spray

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Mar, 2015 02:20 PM

    SUMAS, Wash. — American officials say a man fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent Thursday near the British Columbia border was wanted for murder in another jurisdiction and assaulted the agent with a chemical spray.

    A U.S. Customs and Border Protection statement says border patrol agents responded when a sensor along the border was activated near the Sumas, Washington, border crossing at around 2:30 p.m.

    In the statement, Blaine chief patrol agent Dan Harris Jr. says the man failed to follow verbal requests and displayed "erratic and threatening behaviour" before spraying an agent with an unidentified chemical.

    Harris says the agent opened fire and killed the man, and the agent was then transported for medical treatment.

    Whatcom County sheriff Bill Elfo told a news conference Friday morning that the man was wanted for murder in another jurisdiction, but he did not provide the location.

    Elfo said investigators found a hatchet inside a backpack that the man was carrying.

    An earlier media report identified the man killed as Daniel Paul, a 42-year-old wanted in Vancouver for the murder of his girlfriend. A Vancouver Police Department spokesman later said the man shot was not Paul.

    The man's nationality and name have not yet been released by authorities.

    The shooting took place on Kneuman Road, which is west of Sumas and about 300 metres from the U.S.-Canada border. The small, rural border crossing at Sumas is about 80 kilometres southeast of Vancouver.

    Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Jennifer Bourque says the agency was not involved in the situation and Canada's port of entry was not affected.

    Several federal and local U.S. agencies are now investigating. The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs are leading the probe.

    Harris Jr. says the agents involved in the shooting are currently on administrative leave, as is standard policy. The agents have served between 10 and 19 years.

    "A shooting is a very traumatic event for any law enforcement officer," he says. "Taking another human's life is the last thing that we want to do. Our agents are dealing with the emotional aftermath of such an event."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    RCMP Charge Alberta Teenager With Attempting To Travel For Terrorism

    RCMP Charge Alberta Teenager With Attempting To Travel For Terrorism
    EDMONTON — RCMP say a teen has been arrested in Alberta and charged with terror-related offences. The young person was taken into custody Thursday in Beaumont, a bedroom community south of Edmonton.

    RCMP Charge Alberta Teenager With Attempting To Travel For Terrorism

    Weaning Canada Off Fossil Fuels: Scholars Says Low Carbon Economy Within Reach

    Weaning Canada Off Fossil Fuels: Scholars Says Low Carbon Economy Within Reach
    Dozens of Canada's top scholars are urging a sweeping remake of how the country produces and uses its energy in a necessary effort to wean itself off fossil fuels.

    Weaning Canada Off Fossil Fuels: Scholars Says Low Carbon Economy Within Reach

    Harper And Netanyahu To Talk Sunday For First Time Since Israeli Election

    Harper And Netanyahu To Talk Sunday For First Time Since Israeli Election
    OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper is planning a Sunday telephone call to his Israeli counterpart and friend, Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Harper And Netanyahu To Talk Sunday For First Time Since Israeli Election

    Toronto Transit Driver Dhanbir Shergill Charged In Death Of 14-year-old Girl

    Toronto Transit Driver Dhanbir Shergill Charged In Death Of 14-year-old Girl
    Police say 28-year-old Dhanbir Shergill of Bowmanville, Ont., is charged with dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

    Toronto Transit Driver Dhanbir Shergill Charged In Death Of 14-year-old Girl

    Cheap Gas Prices Keep February Inflation Rate Low At 1.0%: Statistics Canada

    OTTAWA — The country's annual inflation rate held steady for the second straight month as higher price tags nearly across the board met headwinds created by low gasoline prices, Statistics Canada said Friday.

    Cheap Gas Prices Keep February Inflation Rate Low At 1.0%: Statistics Canada

    Canadian Waste Angers Filipinos; Canada Says It's 'Private Commercial Matter'

    Canadian Waste Angers Filipinos; Canada Says It's 'Private Commercial Matter'
    OTTAWA — Fifty containers of reeking Canadian garbage, including used adult diapers, have been languishing in the port of Manila for almost two years, sparking recent protests in the Philippines by environmental and public health activists.

    Canadian Waste Angers Filipinos; Canada Says It's 'Private Commercial Matter'