An RCMP officer packs away pylons used in a roadblock near the U.S.-Canada border near Abbotsford, B.C., on April 2, 2013.Ben Nelms/The Globe and Mail
A suspect who had been on the loose since a shooting incident near the Canada-U.S. border Tuesday is in custody.
The man – one of two spotted by U.S. border patrol in a rural area of Washington state shortly after 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning – had fired on border guards before fleeing into the woods. Another suspect was apprehended at the scene. No injuries were reported.
The suspect was arrested in an Abbotsford residence at about 4:30 a.m. by members of the Abbotsford Police Department, the B.C. force said Wednesday at a press conference. The man is known to police and has been a resident of the Fraser Valley in recent years.
Sherriff Bill Elfo of the Whatcom County Sherriff's Office said United States Border Patrol has told his agency the suspect is in custody and "no longer poses a threat to nearby citizens."
The incident triggered a significant police response on both sides of the border, with Abbotsford Police Department and RCMP personnel converging on the area and a local church being used as a command centre.
The area – east of the Huntingdon-Sumas border crossing – is known as a smuggling corridor. The men were dressed in camouflage outfits and carrying backpacks at the time they were spotted by U.S. border personnel.
Wendy Stueck