Canada police say murder suspect arrested at U.S. border
EDMONTON, Canada — (AP) — The man wanted in a deadly armored car heist at a university in western Canada that left three armed guards dead was arrested at gunpoint by U.S. border officials in Washington state, police said.
Edmonton police superintendent Bob Hassel said in a news release that Travis Baumgartner was stopped near a border crossing in Lynden, Wash., southwest of Abbotsford, British Columbia. Officials said Baumgartner was in his pickup truck and was alone.
Police said a sum of money was found in the truck when Baumgartner was arrested. Police had earlier called it a “significant” sum.
Baumgartner, 21, had been on the run since Friday when four armed guards were gunned down, three of them fatally. He faces three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Baumgartner was the fifth member of a G4S Cash Solutions crew that was reloading bank machines at a University of Alberta mall and residence where the shooting happened, police said. The armored truck was found abandoned but running not far from the security company’s offices. Dead at the scene were Michelle Shegelski , 26; Eddie Rejano, 39; and Brian Ilesic, 35.
“We’re grateful to the border officials at Lynden, Washington, for their excellent work in arresting a man we believe was armed and extremely dangerous,” Hassel said in a statement. Canadian police officials were on their way to the United States to bring Baumgartner back to Edmonton.
Employees at the nearby duty-free shop in Lynden said they watched part of the arrest from their front window. A worker who would only give her first name, Adrienne, said she saw two border patrol vehicles with lights flashing and officers standing outside with their guns drawn. She said she didn’t hear any shots fired.
“It’s pretty scary,” she said. “Luckily nothing here happened.”
Police had launched an international manhunt to find Baumgartner.
G4S Cash Solutions spokeswoman Robin Steinberg said the company would conduct its own investigation into the shooting. Baumgartner had only been on the job for three months.
Baumgartner’s mother issued a statement Friday pleading for her son to surrender and apologizing for an argument they had.