A female Canadian border officer was shot at the Douglas (Peace Arch)
border crossing in Surrey Tuesday afternoon. The incident happened just
before 2 p.m. PT.Cpl. Bert Paquet with the Surrey RCMP said a
man driving a white van with Washington plates, and entering Canada,
shot the officer in her booth while at the crossing. Paquet said the man
then turned the gun on himself and died at the scene.The
officer, who has not been identified, was airlifted to Royal Columbian
Hospital, and she was still breathing when she was transported.Witnesses say it appears the officer was shot in the neck. Her current condition is not known.

RCMP is still working on the motive for the shooting, and the full sequence of events.

Paquet could not confirm if the suspect and victim knew each other.

The body of the suspect is still on the scene.

"Our first priority will be to provide this officer with the treatment she needs," said Paquet.

People
who were at the border at the time of the shooting were held for a few
hours, but cars were being released at about 4:45 p.m.Dave Nobel was in the border line-up when the incident happened, and he told Global BC he heard three gunshots.

Nobel said
it was a "crazy scene" as border officers were running to the van, and
those officers had their guns drawn, yelling at a man to get out of the
van.BC Ambulance confirmed it sent two ground and one Air Ambulance to the scene, after a call came in just before 2 p.m. PT.

Minister Vic Toews said in a statement:

"I
am deeply concerned by the news of the shooting today at the Peace Arch
border crossing of a CBSA officer. My thoughts and prayers go out to
the family and colleagues of this Border Service Officer.""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.”The border remains closed in both directions.

Traffic
heading northbound is being re-routed through the truck
crossing. Travelers are advised to use the Pacific Highway or Aldergrove
crossing. US Customs and Border Protection confirm it is not involved
in case; but is helping divert all northbound traffic to other
crossings.An employee at the Peace Arch Duty Free told Global BC
Canadian Border Services told them there is someone in the area with a
gun, and they have closed the border in both directions. They did not
hear or see anything, but the store was on lockdown and customers
were kept inside for a few hours.
http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/updated+canadian+border+officer+shot+in+her+booth+at+bc+peace+arch+crossing/6442734892/story.html