Peace Arch Less Than Peaceful

Seattlest normally thinks of the Peace Arch along the lines of those posters that the dentist helpfully affixes to the ceiling: something to look at while you endure an unpleasant, dullsville experience, such as getting a tooth drilled or sucking exhaust while you wait to cross the border into B.C.

It wasn't so dullsville Tuesday at the Peace Arch, up near Blaine, as two alleged murderers--on the run from charges in California--blew through the checkpoint at the tail end of a car chase. It ended with shots fired, leaving one suspect with non-life-threatening injuries, both suspects in custody, and the border closed.

And here's the twist: Turns out that the unarmed Canadian border guards "have the legal right to refuse to work if they believe they are in imminent danger." So when the guards learned that the murder suspects--officially "armed and dangerous"--were en route, they abandoned ship--leaving two (just two!) supervisors at each border crossing, protecting Canada. O, Canada!

Check out the Peace Arch webcam here.