News
Unarmed CBSA officer shot

Oct 18 2012

VANCOUVER – The Canada Border Services Agency says the Douglas Peace Arch border crossing reopened this morning after it was closed Tuesday as police investigated the shooting of a border guard.

Investigators say the Canada Border Services Agency officer who was shot in the neck by a man who then killed himself at the border does not appear to have been specifically targeted.

Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) Supt. Kevin Hackett made the comment in a statement Wednesday that also identified Andrew Michael Crews, 32, of north Seattle, as the shooter of border guard Lori Bowcock.

Bowcock, who is in her late 20s, is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery, according to the CBSA.

Investigators from the RCMP, IHIT and U.S. law enforcement agencies continue to gather evidence and speak with witnesses, Hackett added.

“This investigation remains in the early stages and investigators are attempting to determine a motive,” said Hackett. “The current evidence clearly indicates that prior to taking his own life, (the shooter) deliberately fired at the victim. There is no evidence, however, to suggest the victim was specifically targeted. … Our thoughts are with the CBSA officer and her family during this difficult time.”

Bowcock was working in a booth at the crossing when Crews entered Canada driving a white Ford Econovan at about 2 p.m. and shot her in the neck with a handgun. With his van surrounded, Crews turned the gun on himself and was pronounced dead at the scene.

His Facebook profile states he had been working as a tattoo artist at a parlour in Silverdale, Wash., this year. He graduated high school in a Las Vegas suburb in 1998, according to the profile.

According to the Seattle Times, Crews’ stepfather said U.S. Homeland Security officials visited the family’s Las Vegas home Wednesday afternoon and told them Crews was dead.

The stepfather said Crews had texted his mother on Monday and told her he loved her and that he was sorry. They have not been able to reach him since, he said. There was no explanation for the message.

According to the stepfather, Crews worked as a tattoo artist in Bremerton. On Wednesday afternoon, Seattle police officers were searching his north Seattle apartment.

Bowcock had moved to Vancouver less than a year ago after working as a civilian dispatcher at the Ontario Provincial Police communications centre in London, Ont.

“As an organization we are very concerned for her and we wish her a speedy recovery,” said OPP Sgt. Peter Leon.

Jean-Pierre Fortin, president of the Customs and Immigration Union offered Bowcock support on behalf of members.

“The thoughts of our entire membership are with our sister and her family in this terrible time. This incident reminds us all that as law enforcement officers serving Canadians, the personal safety risk we undertake is real every time we go on shift because dealing with the unknown is part of our job,” Fortin said in a statement Wednesday.

South Surrey resident LeAnn Dombrosky said she was about three cars behind the white van in the border lineup. She said she had her windows rolled down when she heard a loud gunshot. She then heard a woman screaming.

“Somebody in that area started to yell ‘Get down on the ground!’ and other commands,” she said, adding that she saw border officials crouched around the van with their guns drawn.

“At that point a second gunshot went off.”

Dombrosky echoed what several other witnesses said Tuesday — that no shots were fired by border guards.

“I figured that he opened fire on (Bowcock) and that was her screaming. I’m not an expert, but I believe the second shot was (Crews) shooting himself.”

CBSA president Luc Portelance issued a statement expressing his sympathy for the guard’s family.

“This is a profound reminder of the risks that border services officers assume every day. I know that the courage and dedication of our officers are second to none,” he said.

Roslyn MacVicar, CBSA’s Pacific regional director general, said Bowcock joined the CBSA a few months ago and was deployed to the Pacific region in July after completing her training the same month. As a recent graduate, Bowcock has not yet completed her firearms training, she noted.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Wednesday he doesn’t think there’s a need to speed up firearms training for border officers after the shooting.

There are about 2,200 armed Canada Border Services Agency officers spread across the country. The government says it hopes to have 5,500 armed officers in place by 2016. This week it announced the opening of a new $57-million firearms training facility in Rigaud, Que., that houses simulation rooms and an 18-lane firing range.

“The new facility is where all of the officers will be trained. We’re trying to train approximately 1,000 officers a year,” Toews told reporters in Ottawa.

Asked if the training ought to be sped up, he replied: “I’d be very reluctant to tell the agency to speed that up if it meant compromising the security training.”

This was not the first time that a CBSA officer had been shot in the line of duty. An officer was shot at the Detroit-Windsor border in the mid-1970s, the union said. That person survived and returned to work.

(Vancouver Sun)