RCMP have identified two brothers as the gunmen killed during an armed robbery and shootout at a Saanich bank on Tuesday.
They are 22-year-olds Issac Auchterlonie and Mathew Auchterlonie from Duncan.
Posts from a now-deleted Instagram account associated to the name Issac Auchterlonie show pictures of firearms and what appears to be wartime images. The account bio lists: Canadian, Patriot, WW2 Pacific War Enthusiast, nature and firearms.
Their family has been notified, said RCMP spokesperson Alex Bérubé at a press conference Saturday.
“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,” Bérubé said.
“The motive behind the armed robbery and subsequent exchange of gunfire with police has not yet been determined.”
Police have determined only two suspects were in the bank, Bérubé said, but “we are continuing to look into whether anyone else was involved or associated to the events on Tuesday.”
The two men attended Frances Kelsey Secondary School in Mill Bay, confirmed former classmate Courtney Dougan. She described the brothers as quiet and reserved.
“All I know is they were super quiet and kept to themselves,” she said. “They were always at the back of the class. [They] never really said much.”
Dougan said the news was still a shock for the town. “It’s a pretty tight community around here. It hits hard,” she said. “They were nice kids even though they were really quiet.”
Neither of the brothers were known to police or had criminal records, RCMP said. Police have linked them to a white four-door 1992 Toyota Camry with black racing stripes.
Bérubé implored anyone with information about the pair to come forward. “We believe there could be people out that may have more information about the brothers, their recent activities and travels and we need those people to come forward and speak to police,” he said.
Mill Bay local Tamara Brennan said most people are somehow connected to one another in the town of about 7,000.
“It’s a very calm place to live. Everybody knows everybody,” she said. “The fact that we never really knew them, I mean they must have really kept to themselves.”
The two men were killed Tuesday morning during what Saanich Police Chief Dean Duthie called a “volatile, dangerous and deadly” exchange of gunfire with police officers outside the BMO bank at Shelbourne and Pear Streets. Six Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team officers were wounded during the shootout. Police have not provided updates on their conditions.
Investigators discovered explosives in a vehicle at the scene. The RCMP bomb disposal unit removed and destroyed the explosives early Wednesday afternoon.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit, an integrated unit made up of RCMP officers and police from Central Saanich, Oak Bay, Victoria and Saanich, is leading the investigation.
>>> Reporter Nina Grossman is writing about the two suspects killed in the BMO bank robbery and shootout in Saanich. If you have information to share, email her at [email protected]
