The Canadian Press
A Washington sheriff says a U.S. Border Patrol agent has fatally shot a man near Sumas, Washington, along the border with Abbotsford.
The Bellingham Herald reports the man was shot in the head Thursday afternoon in an apparent confrontation with law enforcement.
The newspaper says that shortly before the fatal shooting, a Sumas police officer reported shots had been fired and asked for backup. A Border Patrol agent also was at the scene.
The road where the shooting took place is less than 1,000 feet from the U.S.-Canada border, just south of McKenzie and Riverside Roads in Abbotsford. That area is beyond a hilled area beyond farms on the Canadian side.
Police, the FBI, border authorities and the sheriff’s office responded.
Elfo says his office will investigate the shooting.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement saying that around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, a “U.S. border Patrol agent on patrol along the U.S.-Canadian border near Sumas, Washington, was assaulted after an encounter with a suspected illegal border crosser.
“The agent discharged his service-issued weapon, fatally striking the individual. Federal Authorities including the DHS Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) internal affairs is coordinating the investigation with cooperation from CBP’s Border Patrol and the Law Enforcement Multi-Agency Response Team (LEMART) of Whatcom County. Details of the incident have also been provided to the FBI.”
