The rare armed robbery and shooting that occurred in Saanich on June 28 also received new information from the BC RCMP, including the identity of the two deceased suspects.
The BC Coroners Service assisted in the identification of the two male suspects on Friday, July 1, and their next of kin have been notified, according to information from the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU).
“The two deceased males are 22-year-old twin brothers – Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie from Duncan,” said BC RCMP. Neither had criminal records or were known to police.
VIIMCU spokesperson Cpl. Alex Bérubé said in a release “We understand that the release of the names of the two deceased may answer the WHO, but there are still many outstanding questions and investigation efforts that need to take place in order to fully understand WHAT took place and WHY.”
In an effort to gather additional information from the public to better understand the purpose behind this rare type of armed robbery and exchange that resulted in six police officers being shot and the two suspects being dead, authorities are disclosing information about the accused.
The day of the shooting, a shelter-in-place order was in effect for the neighbourhood surrounding the bank as police looked for a potential third suspect and alerted the public to the possibility of an explosive device.
There were only two suspects in the bank, according to the investigation so far, but authorities are currently checking to see whether there may have been others.
Tuesday, June 28, at around 11 a.m., Saanich Police, GVERT, and VicPD officers responded to a report that two armed individuals had entered the Saanich Bank of Montreal branch in the 3600 block of Shelbourne Street.
According to a news release, officers encountered the armed suspects who had allegedly fired at them. The “suspects were shot by police and died at the scene.”
The suspects are also linked to a 1992 Toyota Camry with two black racing stripes across the hood and roof. It has four doors and is white.
Police have already interviewed dozens of people and obtained hundreds of hours of video.
Anyone who recently interacted with the suspects, spotted the alleged car in the week prior to the event, or has any new information is asked to call VIIMCU at 250-380-6211.
Recently reported by the Vancouver sun, Canadian police are far less likely to kill or be killed compared to U.S. counter parts. According to a study done by B.C. criminologists they found about 1,000 people are killed by police in the U.S. every year while in Canada less than 30 people are killed by police.
They study also found there are about 69,000 police officers in Canada compared to the 770,000 police officers in the U.S. Criminologist Rick Parent also said the reasoning for less deaths by fire arms in Canada is because the U.S. has a violent culture compared to Canada and Canadian cops “are more highly trained, better financed.”
