One person was wounded near Blaine, Washington, in an encounter close to the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings.
BLAINE, WA — The FBI is investigating after a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and wounded an armed person early Tuesday near the Canadian border in Blaine, a small Whatcom County city north of Bellingham.
The shooting drew a large law enforcement response to a residential edge of the border, near Fourth Street and A Street and close to the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings. Federal and local officials said the person who was shot was taken to a hospital, no agents were hurt, and a firearm was recovered at the scene. Authorities had not released the person’s name or condition by Wednesday.
The incident happened around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday in an area where neighborhood streets end near a narrow strip of trees separating the United States from Canada. Blaine police said the shooting involved U.S. Border Patrol personnel and that the FBI was handling the investigation. “There is no threat to the public,” police said in a statement, adding that media questions were being directed to federal investigators.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said a Border Patrol agent discharged a service weapon during an encounter with an individual near the border. Scott said the subject was injured and received medical treatment. He said the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Blaine police, CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the FBI responded. The FBI is leading the criminal investigation, while CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the use of force.
Officials have not said what led to the encounter, whether the injured person crossed the border before the shooting, or whether any charges are expected. The scene was cordoned off for hours Tuesday as investigators worked near the dead-end street. Local reports said emergency medical crews were dispatched to the area for an assault call around the same time. By late Tuesday, officials had described the shooting as isolated but had released few details about the sequence of events.
The location is one of the most closely watched parts of the Washington-British Columbia border. Blaine sits directly south of Surrey, British Columbia, and includes routes used by passenger vehicles, commercial traffic and local residents. The Peace Arch crossing is a major passenger route, while the nearby Pacific Highway crossing handles heavy commercial traffic. The shooting happened outside the inspection booths, in a neighborhood area near the international line rather than inside a port of entry.
Residents told local reporters they heard shouting and then gunfire before police vehicles, federal agents and other responders filled the area. Heather Steele, who lives nearby, said she heard “two quick pops” shortly after her alarm went off. Another resident, Chris Beckett, said Border Patrol vehicles are a regular sight in the area because of the border’s close reach to homes and trees. “Somebody came through that path,” Beckett said of the wooded strip, though federal officials have not confirmed that account.
The case now moves through two tracks. The FBI is examining whether a crime occurred and what happened before the agent fired. CBP’s internal review will examine the agent’s use of force. Those reviews typically include witness interviews, physical evidence, radio traffic, reports from responding officers and any available video. Investigators had not announced a timeline for releasing findings, and officials said more information would be provided when available.
The Canada Border Services Agency declined to comment on the shooting and referred questions to U.S. authorities. Traffic at the main crossings was not described as the focus of the investigation, but the shooting added a rare violent episode to a busy border community where federal patrols are routine. As of Wednesday, the injured person’s identity, medical condition and possible charges remained unknown.
Author note: Last updated Wednesday, June 17, 2026.