British Columbia RCMP is asking the public for assistance in identifying the individuals involved in a violent attack at a Coastal GasLink (CGL) worksite that happened shortly after midnight on Feb. 17.
Police have released three videos of the attack that show several people, some wielding axes, storming the CGL drill pad site and descending on security vehicles near the town of Houston in northern B.C.
“The unknown individuals, who were similarly dressed, swung axes at the vehicle; spray painted the window and ignited what is suspected to be a flare gun,” the RCMP said in a statement on Feb. 22.
“Thankfully, the CGL employees were not physically harmed.”
In one video, which was taken from inside a vehicle, two attackers advance and one swings an axe at the vehicle. In the second video, two individuals are seen swinging axes towards another vehicle.
A third video shows an assailant shining a flashlight at the individual video-recording from inside a vehicle while another sprayed red paint on the passenger side window. Another assailant set off fireworks that appeared to strike the side of the vehicle.
On Feb. 17, the RCMP said they were called by security at the CGL drill site who reported being attacked by assailants.
“It was reported approximately 20 people, some armed with axes, were attacking security guards and smashing their vehicle windows. It was initially reported that some CGL employees were trapped, but all had managed to safely leave the area,” the police said in a statement. As the police made their way towards the worksite, they found the road was blocked with downed trees, tar-covered stumps, wire, and boards with spikes in them as fires burned throughout the debris.
Several people threw smoke bombs and burning sticks at officers as they worked their way through the debris and traps, police said. At least one officer was injured.
“In one of the most concerning acts, an attempt was made to set a vehicle on fire while workers were inside,” the company said, adding that the vandalism also caused toxic fluid leaks that it is now working to clean up.
In a Feb. 22 news release, one CGL security employee who is identified only as Trevor encountered the assailants and said what he experienced that night was “terrifying.” “One word is terrifying, it was terrifying,” he said. “This was not a peaceful interaction. This was violence.”
“To have somebody come at you with an axe is, you know, a whole other level of … fear.”
CGL said in a statement on Feb. 18 that the assault occurred at the same location where a two-month blockade in 2021 protested the company’s pipeline construction project and that millions of dollars in damage was done with heavy equipment commandeered on-site. CGL is building a 670-kilometre pipeline that cuts across Wet’suwet’en First Nation traditional territory in northwestern B.C.
While CGL said the project is “lawful, authorized, and fully permitted” by the provincial government and has the support of all 20 elected First Nation chiefs and band councils along its route, the project is opposed by some Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and environmentalists, who want it stopped.
In the past three years, the RCMP has enforced three court orders against blockades set up by the chiefs and their supporters.
The police said on Feb. 23 that the investigation is ongoing and that the site is undergoing environmental analysis to address the fluid leaks from the damaged heavy equipment. Access to the area is currently controlled to ensure the safety of investigators and to preserve evidence at the scene.
The public is asked to call the Houston RCMP at (250) 845-2204 if they have any information about the attackers.
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