Vancouver Island RCMP have publicly identified the two gunmen killed in a shootout with police at a bank in Saanich on Tuesday.
The suspects were 22-year-old twin brothers Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie, the BC RCMP’s Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crimes Unit confirmed at a news conference Saturday morning.
The twins are from Duncan, B.C., and their family is cooperating with the investigation and has asked for confidentiality, B.C. RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alex Berube.
Neither man had a criminal record and was previously known to police, he added.
“We understand that releasing the names of the two deceased may answer the who, but there are still many questions and investigative efforts that need to take place in order to fully understand what happened and why,” said declared Bérubé.
“The motive for the armed robbery and the exchange of fire with the police has not yet been determined.”
Bérubé added that investigators believe there may be people who have more information about the brothers who have not yet spoken to police.
“We need these people to come forward,” he said.
Bérubé did not receive an update on the condition of the three police officers injured in the incident who remained in hospital as of Thursday. He referred questions about these officers to the Saanich and Victoria police departments.
Police, including officers from the heavily armed Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team, were called to the Bank of Montreal branch on Shelbourne Street in Saanich around 11 a.m. Tuesday to reports of a a bank robbery.
Officers encountered the two suspects as they were leaving the bank and a shootout ensued.
The suspects were killed and six police officers were injured. While police initially said they were investigating the possibility that a third suspect was involved in the attempted robbery, Bérubé said on Saturday that investigators now believe the Auchterlonie brothers were the only suspects in the bank.
Investigators are continuing to investigate whether anyone else was involved or associated with the incident, he said.
After the first exchange of gunfire, police found ‘improvised explosive devices’ inside the suspects’ vehicle, which they have since described as a white 1992 four-door Toyota Camry with two black racing stripes on the hood and roof.
Bérubé said Saturday that police confirmed the Auchterlonie brothers were associated with the vehicle, and said investigators had received multiple calls and information about the car.