Staff at B.C. weigh station shocked to find bullet holes in windows, walls

An investigation is underway after bullets were fired into the weigh station building near Hope.

On Sunday afternoon, multiple bullet holes could be seen in the windows and the building.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told Global News that the station along Highway 1, just west of Hope, was closed when the incident happened Saturday night.

“The safety of our staff is our number one priority,” the ministry said in the statement.

It confirmed it is working with RCMP and says it has taken steps to increase safety precautions for staff but is unable to elaborate further.

1:44 Shocking results from commercial vehicle checks on B.C. roads

Stephanie Smith, president of the B.C. General Employees Union, told Global News Monday that commercial vehicle safety enforcement officers perform a critical job on B.C.’s highways making sure commercial vehicles are safe and supply chains operating.

“This is a job that comes with inherent risks,” Smith said. “They are highly visible law enforcement officers and that can bring them into conflict with others and there is inherent risk in the work that they do.”

Smith said the BCGEU makes sure the employer, the province, is mitigating that risk at every opportunity. She said they have seen some improvements over the past few months but they believe there needs to be a province-wide safety and risk assessment, especially with a focus on violence and aggression.

“We have not had a risk assessment done province-wide and that is one thing we are really pushing with the employer,” Smith added.

She confirmed there are just over 275 people who work for Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement with about 200 being considered front-line officers.