Shots fired at U.S. border agents
Gunman fled into woods near Sumas
SUMAS, Wash. – U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested one man Tuesday and were searching for another in a remote area along the U.S.-Canadian border in northwest Washington after the agents encountered the camouflaged pair and one shot at them, officials said.
Michael Milne, a spokesman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the agents were on patrol Tuesday morning when they encountered the pair in the Columbia Valley, a forested area east of Sumas well-known as a drug-smuggling corridor. They were wearing camouflage and carrying backpacks, he said.
“One of the subjects fired at the agents and fled into the woods,” Milne said. “The other individual was apprehended.”
No injuries were reported.
Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks said deputies were called to help.
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Police Constable Ian MacDonald said the incident happened on the U.S. side, and that Canadian police were told the second suspect might have made his way into Canada.
Agents set up road blocks and a helicopter scoured the area.
Sumas is 95 miles north of Seattle on Highway 9. It is 22 miles east of the main border crossing on Interstate 5 at Blaine.