'They backed the truck right through the door': Brazen break-in at Sooke business caught on camera

Dramatic video captured on security cameras Friday morning shows a brazen break and enter at a Sooke business.

"They backed the truck right through the door," said Wayne Smith, owner of Sooke Power Supply.

Smith says two thieves then spent the next three minutes stealing more than $40,000 worth of equipment while another man waited in the truck.

"They got seven generators, I believe 10 chainsaws and some power axes," said the business owner.

Smith says the suspects were driving a stolen vehicle.

"We know that for sure. From up in Shawnigan at about 2 a.m.," he said.

Sooke has experienced a significant population growth over the past few years, bringing with it more calls to police.

"They are growing along with the population growth," said Sooke Mayor Maja Tait. "More people means more calls for service."

CTV News spoke with a witness who said he saw the entire break-in unfold Friday morning.

He called 911 at 4:33 a.m., as soon as the truck drove through the buildings storefront from the parking lot across the street.

By 4:38 a.m. he had gotten off the phone with the 911 dispatcher after the truck had driven away.

He said it wasn’t until 5:11 a.m. that an officer arrived to investigate, giving the suspects a 30-minute head start.

"There are periods of time during which Sooke RCMP officers respond on a call-out basis," Staff-Sgt. Kevin Shaw of the Sooke RCMP said in a statement to CTV News.

Shaw wouldn’t confirm if Friday morning's incident was an example of one of those call-outs.

"We work very closely with the RCMP and we have a solid plan now in place,” said Tait.

She says funding for more officers has now been approved through the district's 2023 budget, adding two new police officers per year starting in 2024 and ending in 2026.

"The plan is to bring in those numbers, do a data dive into statistics and then look at where we need to resource accordingly," said the mayor.

Anyone with information about the suspects who are still at large is asked to contact the Sooke RCMP.