No ID yet on Saanich bank gunmen, police tight-lipped on weapons used

Police are remaining tight-lipped about the botched bank robbery that devolved into a deadly shootout in Saanich on Tuesday.

Saanich Police Chief Const. Dean Duthie and RCMP Cpl. Alex Berube held a media briefing Thursday afternoon, but provided few new details on the incident, citing concurrent investigations by the Vancouver Island Major Crimes Unit and the Independent Investigations Office.

Both provided statements but declined to take questions after the briefing.

Several key questions remain about the incident, including the identity of the men shot dead outside the bank.

Berube said police were still working with the BC Coroners Service to formally identify the two shooters, and would then notify their families before working to determine their “background, who they are, their histories, and how that may relate to what took place.”

The number and type of firearms used by the suspects, as well as how they acquired them, also remain unanswered questions.

One witness inside the bank during the robbery described seeing an “assault rifle,” while another witness told Global News about taking cover amid “machine gun” fire.

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“A number of firearms have been recovered at the site. The fulsome assessment and analysis of the firearms used during the exchange with police is underway,” Berube said, adding multiple firearms specialists were “dealing with and identifying” the guns.

“We are mindful that while it is important to the VIMCU investigation, it is also being looked at by the IIO and their concurrent investigation, therefore there nothing further we can say with regards to the firearms.”

Police have confirmed they located “multiple” improvised explosive devices from the suspects’ vehicle, which were destroyed Wednesday by a bomb disposal unit.

Details about those devices, too, are still being withheld.

“There is significant work underway to look further at those devices, and providing specifics at this time could impact those efforts,” Berube said.

Investigators did not address how the shootout unfolded, save to say police were already outside the bank when the suspects exited.

Police did not address the investigation into a possible third suspect. On Tuesday, investigators issued a shelter-in-place advisory as they scoured the neighbourhood for a potential third robber. On Wednesday, Duthie said police continued to investigate that possibility.

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Police did confirm new details about the suspect’s vehicle.

The white panel van which was seen outside the bank, Duthie clarified, actually belonged to the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team, which diverted from an unrelated call in the area to join the police response to the robbery.

The suspect vehicle, Berube said, was a white 1992 Toyota Camry four-door with two black racing stripes over the hood. Police are asking anyone with information on the vehicle or its movements in the week prior to the shooting to call investigators at 250-380-6211.

Duthie thanked the community for its outpouring of support for the six officers injured in the incident and praised the professionalism of officers and 911 call takers who responded to the incident.

He also lauded the work of officers who tended to the wounds of their critically injured colleagues.

Duthie went on to offer the department’s support to staff and customers trapped in the bank during the robbery.

“They experienced an incident that will never be forgotten and likely often replayed in their minds over and over again,” he said.

“Please know that the Saanich Police Department is thinking about you. From our hearts. And we hope that you have the support you need to process what you’ve experienced and move forward in a healthy way.”

On Wednesday, Duthie said of the six officers who were shot, three suffered life-threatening injuries and required extensive surgeries.

One of those officers remains in intensive care, while the other two will require additional surgeries in the future. Three officers have been released from the hospital.

The shootout happened outside the Bank of Montreal in the 3600-block of Shelbourne Street on Tuesday, as officers confronted armed men leaving the bank.

One witness, who was trapped inside the bank, spoke of the balaclava-clad robbers demanding a key to the vault from the bank’s manager, and said at least one of the suspects carried “an assault rifle.”

Another told Global News about taking cover outside the bank amid “machine gun” fire.

Police have since erected black fencing around the scene of the shooting as they continue to process the area.

Investigators have also created an online portal where people can submit photo and video evidence to aid in the investigation.