Saanich, B.C. bank shooter was rejected by military, CAF says
One of the twin brothers who was killed in a shootout with police outside a bank in Saanich, B.C., last week had applied to join the Canadian Armed Forces but was rejected, a military spokesperson confirmed Monday.
Mathew Auchterlonie had tried to join the Canadian Army but did not pass the aptitude test, the national defence spokesperson said.
The spokesperson declined to say when he applied.
The 22-year-old was killed Tuesday along with his twin brother, Isaac Auctherlonie, amid an exchange of gunfire outside a Bank of Montreal that also left six police officers injured.
Mathew was not the only brother with an interest in the military.
The national defence spokesperson confirmed that Isaac completed a solider-for-a-day work-study program with the Canadian Armed Forces in 2018.
The spokesperson described the program as an "open house" that allows anyone over the age of 15 to participate in simulated military fitness testing and tour a military installation.
"Neither Isaac nor Mathew Auchterlonie have ever been part of the Canadian Armed Forces in any way," the spokesperson said.
An Instagram account that was maintained by Isaac was dedicated to pro-gun messages and imagery, including videos of the brothers firing multiple weapons together.
The account also traded in anti-government and anti-vaccine hashtags and messages, and featured video clips from a documentary on the 1997 North Hollywood bank shootout on the anniversary last year, captioned: "24 years ago today."
Before the account was deactivated, the bio read: "Canadian. Patriot. WW2 Pacific war enthusiast. Nature. Firearms."
Police on Saturday identified the twins as the two men killed in the shooting that rocked the neighbourhood north of Victoria.
Investigators said multiple explosive devices were also found in a vehicle linked to the suspects at the bank.
Three of the officers injured in the shooting remain in hospital, including one in intensive care.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.