Thread: U.S. border at Blaine shut down after police chase, shots fi

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... der24.html


U.S. border at Blaine shut down after police chase, shots fired

The Associated Press

BLAINE, Whatcom County â€â€

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... CHMOND.TMP

Richmond homicide suspects caught at Canadian border
- Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 24, 2006


(1-24) 1745 PST RICHMOND -- Two suspects in Richmond's first homicide of the year were arrested this afternoon after a chase at the Canadian border ended with one of the men being shot, police said.

Ishtiaq Hussain, 38, of Richmond, and Jose Antonio Barajas, 22, of San Pablo, tried to enter Canada from the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, Wash. on Interstate 5 at 2 p.m., police said.

Authorities spotted the pair in a red car at the Peace Arch and attempted to detain them; they sped away and were rammed by a Whatcom County sheriff's office sport-utility vehicle, authorities said. Soon after, authorities opened fire, injuring Hussain, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

Hussain was expected to survive, and Barajas was unhurt, police said. Authorities are seeking their extradition to California.

Police linked the pair to Saturday night's shooting death of Ashok Malhotra, 43, at 2380 Aberdeen Way in Richmond and obtained $1 million warrants for their arrest. Richmond police Detective Aaron Mandell learned that the suspects were headed to Canada and alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which protects U.S. border crossings.

Malhotra, most recently a San Francisco taxi driver, is believed to have been acquainted with both suspects.

Malhotra, who once ran a limousine service out of El Sobrante, was having financial problems as recently as three months ago, according to long-time friend Jagdish Chanana.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national ... 60124.html

Shootout closes Peace Arch border crossing
Last Updated Tue, 24 Jan 2006 23:47:40 EST
CBC News
A police chase at the Canada-U.S. border forced the closure of the Peace Arch border crossing south of Vancouver on Tuesday.

It also caused dozens of Canadian guards to walk off the job, fearing for their safety.

The incident started when two men, both murder suspects, tried to get into Canada. Officials say the two men, 38-year-old Ishtiaq Hussain and 22-year-old Jose Antonio Barajas, are now in custody. They are wanted on murder charges in California.

But the arrest didn't come easy. One of the suspects was wounded in a shootout with police.

U.S. sheriffs say the pair managed to make it to the check point about a metre before Canadian soil.

"They [drove] through the border and they almost struck two uniformed officers," said Bill Elf, of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department.

The suspects continued northbound and struck the Peace Arch itself at one point.

Witness Bill Whittle didn't see the ensuing gunfight but he heard it. "I heard about seven or eight gunshots on the other side of the Peace Arch," he said. "One of [the suspects] was shot. [The police] got him out of the car."

Officials credit a brave deputy sheriff for single-handedly stopping the pair, who were considered armed and dangerous.

CBC News has learned that when unarmed Canadian border guards found out the murder suspects were coming their way they left their posts at four crossings along the B.C. border. Only two supervisors were left at each crossing to protect the Canadian side.

A spokeswoman with Canada Border Services says the guards have the legal right to refuse to work if they believe they are in imminent danger.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182721,00.html

Chase, Gun Battle Shuts Down U.S.-Canadian Border

"An unspecified number of Canadian border agents, who are unarmed, left their posts during the incident because they were concerned about their safety, said Paula Shore, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency. Managers took over and security was not compromised, she said."

Maybe we should start watching the Canadian border a little more? The agents are unarmed and apparently if you go BOO they run away. Plus they have Pauly Shore in charge. How did he get a job like that?

added to homepage
http://www.alipac.us/article-1005-thread-1-0.html

I'm starting to wonder if both of these suspects were illegal immigrants after reading the following article. It mentions authorities were worried they would flee the country since the men were from Mexico and Pakistan.

http://www.thestar.com

Murder suspects in shootout at B.C. border
Unarmed Canadian agents flee posts
Jan. 25, 2006. 08:04 AM
GREG JOYCE
CANADIAN PRESS


BLAINE, Wash. - American authorities closed the border crossing to British Columbia on Tuesday after an exchange of gunfire on the U.S. side between border guards, police and two murder suspects from California who were eventually apprehended.

The two men were pursued by American police in a high-speed chase along Interstate 5 in Washington state before the men ran the U.S. border crossing in an attempt to get into Canada.

"They are very dangerous suspects," said Bill Elfo, sheriff of Whatcom County.

An unspecified number of Canadian border agents, who are unarmed, left their posts during the incident because they were concerned about their safety. Managers took over and border security was not compromised, said Paula Shore, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency.

The chase, which reached speeds of 160 km/h, began after Whatcom County sheriff deputies were told that the two suspects had been seen in Custer, Wash., about 10 kilometres south of the border on I-5.

A deputy sheriff tried to make contact with them but they fled.

The men ran the U.S. customs station at the Peace Arch crossing, but police continued their pursuit.

Their vehicle veered across Peace Arch Park and the men were driving north in the southbound lane of I-5. They were eventually stopped by a sheriff deputy who rammed their car with his vehicle.

When the murder suspects tried to flee, shots were exchanged between them and U.S. law enforcement authorities.

One of the men was shot and taken to hospital for treatment. The other was in federal custody.

"Apparently there was a collision involved and the suspects exited the vehicle," said Trooper Bob Wilson of the Washington State Patrol. "I don't know who shot first."

The extent of the wounded man's injuries was not known. No law enforcement officers were injured, said Elfo.

When the car came across the U.S. side of the border, Elfo said two uniformed Homeland Security officers were almost struck by the vehicle.

When it did come to a stop, it was about a metre from the line designating the Canadian border, he said.

"I'm very proud of all our people involved," said Elfo. "It's a highly dangerous business trying to capture suspects such as these."

Sheriff's deputies pursued the two men based on an alert put out by police in Richmond, Calif.

A spike belt was laid across the I-5 between Custer and the border, but it didn't stop the suspects' car, Elfo said.

Lieut. Mark Gagan of the Richmond, Calif., police department said because both men were from different countries, Pakistan and Mexico, there were concerns they would leave the United States.

Gagan said Ishtiaq Hussain, 43, and 22-year-old Jose Antonio Barajas were arrested after the shootout on the U.S. side of the border.

"Right now we're working on extraditing both men back to the San Francisco Bay area to face the murder charges," he said.

Ashok Malhotra was shot to death in a Richmond, Calif., apartment on Saturday.

Gagon said police were pleased with the co-operation they received from several levels of law enforcement agencies in the Washington State area.

"It took a considerable amount of co-ordination to get them to focus on our suspects," he said. "The fact that they were taken into custody before they entered Canada helped us very much."

Shore refused to say Tuesday night how many Canadian border agents left their posts because of the perceived danger. She said less than four of the more than 20 British Columbia border crossings were involved.

"A few officers exercised their right to refuse to work because of what they perceived as imminent danger," Shore said in a telephone interview. Under the labour code, "any worker has the right to refuse to work if they feel they are in imminent danger."

Border service managers took over and "as far as the travelling public is concerned, they would notice no difference," she said. ``We still have highly trained people on the front lines doing their job."

The Canadian Department of Human Resources "came and assessed the situation for us," she said, and staffing had returned to normal by late Tuesday night.

The incident prompted officials to divert traffic to the Pacific highway crossing at the border between Washington state and British Columbia. The border crossing reopened early Wednesday.

Washington's Transportation Department said it started diverting traffic on I-5 northbound at about 2:30 p.m.

After the chase across the park on Tuesday, large tire marks had been left around the Peace Arch Monument from the police pursuit.

During the summer, the park is usually filled with tourists walking between the two lanes of the I-5 Highway.

"The public is always at risk when we have crosswalks in the middle of the freeway," said Elfo. "It's a very dangerous situation."

The Peace Arch border crossing was closed for more than two hours a week ago on the Canadian side after customs officers found a suspicious package in a vehicle being driven by a man who was behaving erratically.

The RCMP explosives squad was called in to deal with the package. Four handguns were also found in the car.

Police said the man appeared to be suffering from a mental illness and no charges were laid.