North Country Border Risks 'Very Real,' Executive Councilor Kenney Says After Shooting

By Damien Fisher, NH Journal

Sunday’s shooting at the Canadian border underscores the growing dangers facing law enforcement in the North Country, Executive Councilor Joe Kenney said Monday. The Wakefield Republican represents northern New Hampshire on the Executive Council.

Around 1 a.m. Sunday, an unidentified man was shot by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent near the Pittsburg port of entry. Authorities allege the man fired first, and the agent returned fire. The man is hospitalized and is expected to face charges. The agent was not injured.

The fact that the shooting did not result in a fatality is fortunate, particularly in a region where remoteness can add to the risks of routine law enforcement activity, Kenney said.

“In the best circumstances, serving on the northern border of New Hampshire is dangerous. The communication is intermittent, often lacking, and it can take several minutes for backup.”

The FBI and U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire, Erin Creegan, are investigating the shooting. Few details have been released beyond the initial reports. It is not known what led up to the shooting or the alleged shooter’s motive. Creegan’s office declined to comment Monday, citing the active investigation.

Human trafficking and narcotics smuggling are ongoing concerns in the region, Kenney said, and the state has focused additional resources on the area in response.

“The New Hampshire Executive Council has supported funding of more than half a million dollars for Northern Shield for related narcotics enforcement and investigations, along with funding for the Northern Border Alliance, a New Hampshire initiative launched in 2023 to increase law enforcement, security, and patrols within 25 miles of the Canadian border,” Kenney said.

“The council funded it with $1.4 million. It aims to curb illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and other crimes. It involves state police, local police, and Fish and Game providing a stronger, more visible presence in the North Country.”

The Northern Border Alliance program funds joint law enforcement efforts within a 25-mile zone of the New Hampshire-Canadian border. Kenney said it resulted in about 50 arrests in its first year and a half. The program faced unified Democratic opposition when it came up for renewal.

“The uniformed men and women who serve in the North Country do an outstanding job, and they deserve our utmost gratitude and respect for the public safety work they do for us,” Kenney said.

Democrats unanimously voted against an additional $600,000 in funding for the program in the most recent budget. Rep. Nicholas Germana (D-Keene) told The Keene Sentinel last year that the program was part of a GOP effort to stoke fear and that the border protection funding should be directed elsewhere.

“It’s another example of the Republicans wanting to, in many ways, attach themselves to issues at the national level,” Germana said. “This was their desire to have a border crisis.”

But Kenney said the border region has long presented challenges that require a serious response.

“We all remember the serial killer Christopher Wilder, who was stopped in Colebrook in April 1984 while trying to get to Canada and was killed in a police struggle. We remember the Carl Drega incident in August 1997, where four people were killed in Colebrook, and we remember the 2025 killing of a U.S. Border Patrol officer in northern Vermont by the Zizians, a cult-like group from the western part of the United States,” Kenney said.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.