FBI investigate shooting at Canada-New Hampshire border crossing; suspect hospitalized

An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

CONCORD, N.H. — A person was shot near the Canadian border in New Hampshire early Sunday by a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was returning fire, investigators said Monday.

The person was taken to a hospital, officials said.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said the shots were fired around 1 a.m. Sunday in Pittsburg, a town of about 800 people at the border with Canada. The FBI did not provide a name of the suspect, but said the person was receiving medical attention at a hospital.

The border patrol agent, who the FBI also did not name, was unharmed, an agency spokesperson said. The shooting happened in a rural community that is home to the state’s sole border crossing with the Canadian province of Quebec.

The shots were fired near the port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said. The FBI’s Boston field office will be investigating the shooting along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Hampshire, authorities said.

“Initial reports indicate that the subject opened fire on the agent at which time the agent returned fire,” Scott said in a statement. “CBP is cooperating fully with investigators.”

Officials with the FBI, CBP and U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to provide more detail on the suspect or the circumstances that led to the exchange of gunfire. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that information would be released if charges are brought against the person.

Pittsburg is about 150 miles (241 kilometres) north of the state capital of Concord. The town also borders Maine and Vermont as well as Canada. The shooting took place near a usually quiet crossing in the only town in New Hampshire that borders Canada. That international border stretches for close to 60 miles (97 kilometres).

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

Kathy Mccormack And Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press