Police investigating possibility of 3rd suspect in Saanich, B.C., shooting
Police investigating possibility of 3rd suspect in Saanich, B.C., shooting
Police investigating possibility of 3rd suspect in Saanich, B.C., shooting
Police in Saanich, B.C., say they continue to investigate the possibility that a "third suspect" was involved in a fatal shooting at a bank that left two suspects dead and six officers injured Tuesday.
Police stressed that they do not believe there is any added risk to the public, however, and that investigators will continue to provide threat assessments when available.
As of Wednesday afternoon, three of the injured officers have been released from hospital, while three others continue to receive care.
Saanich Police Chief Const. Dean Duthie says the three officers still in hospital sustained "life-threatening" injuries Tuesday, and one officer remains in intensive care.
Those three officers have undergone surgery and will require several more, alongside months of recovery, Duthie says.
Saanich police respond to the incident at the Bank of Montreal on June 28, 2022. (CTV News)
Duthie says Greater Victoria's emergency response team was not far from the Bank of Montreal when the report of the armed robbery call came in and were on scene in time to confront the suspects.
The police chief adds that explosive devices found inside a car linked to the suspects at the scene have also been disposed of.
Officers from the BC RCMP provincial explosive disposal unit (EDU) brought the explosives to the Hartland Landfill in Saanich and "safely destroyed" them, according to Duthie.
Some residents and businesses near the scene of the shooting were evacuated Tuesday after the explosives were found.
As of Wednesday, those homes and business remain blocked by police, as investigators comb the scene.
The sealed off area is on Shelbourne Street between Cedar Hill Cross Road and Donnelly Avenue.
Saanich police respond to the incident at the Bank of Montreal on June 28, 2022. (CTV News)
"I attended the hospitals today and met with officers who are in there and their families," said Duthie. "They wanted me to extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to the public for their ongoing support. It means a lot to them."
The police chief said he was moved by the bravery of the officers, who belonged to both the Saanich and Victoria police departments.
"They ran towards live and active gunfire while human instinct is to run away from such imminent danger," he said.
Duthie also thanked other first responders who were at the scene, and the staff at two local hospitals who provided emergency care to the injured officers.
RCMP TAKEOVER
The RCMP's Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU) has taken lead on the investigation.
Though considered an RCMP unit, the VIIMCU includes officers from the RCMP, as well as Victoria police, Saanich police, Oak Bay police, and Central Saanich police.
RCMP spokesperson Chris Manseau says investigators are treating the incident as an attempted murder.
He stressed that the investigation is in the "extremely early stages" and that investigators are still focusing on gathering physical and digital evidence.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the VIIMCU tip line at 250-380-6211.
Manseau added that it may take time for officers to respond to potential tips due to the volume of evidence being submitted.
"We respect that there is significant public interest in yesterday’s events, but at this time we are not able to confirm identities, background or motive," said Superintendent Sanjaya Wijayakoon of the BC RCMP Major Crime Unit in a statement.
"We do commit to providing future updates as the investigation progresses and where it is appropriate to share while ensuring the integrity of the investigation."
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is also conducting its own investigation.
The organization is called whenever a police-involved incident results in serious harm or death, regardless of if there have been allegations of wrongdoing.
POLITICANS EXPRESS GRATITUDE
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "saddened by the violence in Saanich" and was keeping the injured officers in mind, in a social media post Tuesday.
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino noted the "tremendous sacrifice" made by the officers during the bank robbery, saying his thoughts are with the community and the officers.
Mendicino was speaking in Toronto, where he made an announcement on funding to combat gun and gang violence.
He said he has reached out to B.C.'s deputy premier, Mike Farnworth, and offered his support.
"It is yet another reminder that gun violence is impacting our communities every single day."
Area mayors of Esquimalt, Saanich and Victoria expressed their support for the "courage and selfless service" of those officers who ran toward the danger.
"To the officers who were injured and to their families, our thoughts are with you and we are sending love as you move through the following days, weeks and months in recovery," mayors Barb Desjardins, Fred Haynes and Lisa Helps said in a statement.
"We are humbled by your service and we offer our heartfelt thanks for your courage as you stood in harm's way to keep our communities safe."
Saanich's police chief said the incident is one that has "never been encountered here in this region" before.
"Having six officers of the Greater Victoria emergency response team injured in this violent exchange of gunfire – I'm sorry, it's an incident that's off the scales for what we have experienced in the past," said Duthie.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed. Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
At the age of 13, Wyatt Sharpe has interviewed the prime minister, a premier, party leaders and cabinet ministers -- and he's not even in high school yet.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump will be questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's long-running civil investigation into his dealings as a real estate mogul, he confirmed in a post on his Truth Social account.
The ingredients in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have finally been identified, revealing new secrets about metallurgy in ancient China.
Patients and doctors alike are feeling the effects of a turbulent healthcare system, where clinic closures have B.C.'s physicians weighing their options as their orphaned patients plead to be seen by a shrinking number of general practitioners.
Several police officers were allegedly assaulted Tuesday in the Downtown Eastside, amid heightened tensions in the neighbourhood as crews were dismantling a tent city.
If Edmonton does go ahead with a new gondola over the North Saskatchewan River, a local businessman has a grand idea for what to surround it with on the southern edge of the valley.
Ontario is set to introduce legislation today to give large municipal leaders so-called strong mayor powers as a way to get housing built more quickly.
The Progressive Conservative government has said that recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) will start receiving their five per cent increases in September.
Six of the seven United Conservative Party candidates vying for the party's leadership will discuss education spending, policy and the future of teaching in Alberta with teachers from across the province Wednesday afternoon.
Tenants living at the Mont-Carmel seniors' residence say they're concerned their landlord is not obeying a court ruling that states the building must primarily house people of a certain age.
Major health care unions in Quebec are claiming victory following a ruling that states the Health Ministry 'negotiated in bad faith' when offering bonuses to employees without consulting union representatives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A state of emergency remains in place in central Newfoundland due to out-of-control forest fires, but a major highway that had been closed for days has been reopened, allowing supplies to be delivered to stranded communities.
St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener has added a touchscreen self-check-in kiosk into its emergency department. in hopes of streamlining patients through the triage system.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
OPP are requesting the public’s help in looking for a suspect who allegedly stole a Lakeshore, Ont. victim’s identity and withdrew several thousand dollars from their account at a bank in Owen Sound.
CTV News has learned one person has been extricated in an early morning head-on crash between a transport and a pickup truck on Highway 144 in Greater Sudbury between the communities of Lively and Chelmsford.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Saanich police respond to the incident at the Bank of Montreal on June 28, 2022. (CTV News)
Saanich police respond to the incident at the Bank of Montreal on June 28, 2022. (CTV News)
