Holly MatkinHoulton, ME – A border crossing between the United States and Canada was shut down on Monday morning after a vehicle heading for the crossing with a sign announcing it had an explosive device on board refused to stop for a Maine State Police (MSP) trooper.
The incident began at approximately 10:39 a.m. on May 29, when a trooper spotted the vehicle traveling northbound on Interstate 95, CNN reported.
Investigators said the vehicle had a sign displayed on it indicating there was “an explosive device” inside, according to CBS News.
The man behind the wheel was later identified as 42-year-old Rhode Island resident Tony Holford.
The trooper tried to pull Holford over, but he refused and instead sped off towards the Canadian Port of Entry, WGME reported.
He stopped when he reached the Woodstock border crossing and was ordered to exit the vehicle, but the MSP said Holford initially refused to surrender and “maneuvered the truck towards the Canadian Port of Entry,” CNN reported.
That’s when MSP Corporal Eric Paquette shot at him, according to the MSP.
US-Canada border in Maine is shut down after crazed driver failed to stop for cops and claimed he had a BOMB before being shot at by officers pic.twitter.com/3YISS3n6sM
— News News News (@NewsNew97351204) May 29, 2023
Holford was not struck by the bullet and subsequently surrendered, CNN reported.
It is unclear whether an explosive device was ultimately found inside the vehicle.
JUST IN | Canadian Border Services (@CanBorderATL) has CLOSED the crossing between Houlton, ME & Woodstock, NB due to a "law enforcement operation"
Mainers looking to get into Canada are being rerouted up to the Bridgewater crossing. pic.twitter.com/SOQLih1E8D
— Dan Lampariello (@DanWGME) May 29, 2023
“The Office of the Maine Attorney General and the Maine State Police are collaborating with Canadian authorities to investigate the incident,” the MSP said in a statement to CNN.
Holford was booked into the Aroostook County Jail on charges of aggravated reckless conduct, terrorizing, and failure to stop, WGME reported.
All lanes of the Woodstock border crossing were shut down while a bomb squad and crime scene technicians investigated the incident.
All lanes at the Woodstock #NB border crossing are closed to traffic due to an active law enforcement operation. Please reroute to the Centreville port of entry or alternate border crossings: https://t.co/3SMtQX63GN pic.twitter.com/scC0FNZoUI
— Border Services ATL (@CanBorderATL) May 29, 2023
The crossing remained closed overnight, but has since resumed normal operations, the Daily Mail reported.
The Houlton-Woodstock border crossing is one of the busiest between the two nations.
