Motorist crossing into Canada leads cops on wild chase before fatally shooting himself

A motorist crossing into Canada Tuesday led authorities on a police chase that ended violently when the suspect suffered a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to law enforcement.The deadly episode – one of three notable border encounters over the last month — unraveled around 8 a.m.after the perp zipped through a required checkpoint and attempted to outrace police in southern Alberta, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials said during a press conference Wednesday.RCMP personnel used road spikes to slow the unidentified motorist, who then abandoned his car and fled on foot as police dogs and officers chased.“During the pursuit, the male sustained a self-inflicted firearm-related injury and was pronounced dead at the scene,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Lisa Moreland said at the press conference streamed by Global News.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is now probing the fatal incident.“This event speaks to the dangers our officers and [Canada Border Services Agency] officers face at the border,” Moreland said.The day before, nine people, including five children, were spotted walking across the US-Canada around 6:15 a.m.after American officials tipped off Canadian law enforcement, Moreland said.The group of people were trudging with suitcases near Coutts, Alberta before they were captured and handed over to border services for processing, she added.Last month, another six people crossing the border on foot during nightfall near Emerson, Manitoba were taken into custody after an RCMP plane spotted them using thermal imaging.

Ground units then converged on a wooded area where the six people were tracked down and arrested.“When our members did approach these individuals they were not prepared for the Canadian weather, they did not have hats, gloves, mitts or anything that we would normally see in a Canadian winter,” Moreland said.The US-Canadian border has been at the center of a tense discussion between the...