Saanich, B.C. bank shooting suspects’ ‘primary objective was to kill police officers’: investigators

The suspects involved in a brazen day-time bank shooting in Saanich last year had been planning the incident since at least 2019, with the intent of killing as many police officers as possible, investigators say.

The latest details come more than six months after the incident unfolded at the BMO in the Vancouver Island community, leaving locals and many others across the province shaken.

In an update provided Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, investigators say the suspects, who were identified as twin 22-year-old brothers, both held strong views on government and police. They add the evidence is clear the attempted bank robbery was a means to get police to respond in droves, and that Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie knew they wouldn’t survive.

“Despite previous speculations, there was no evidence found to suggest any third party was involved,” RCMP Corp. Alex Bérubé with the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit said Friday.

“It was determined the suspects’ primary objective was to shoot and kill police officers, in what they saw as a stand against government regulations, especially in relation to firearms ownership.”

In total, officials say more than 100 magazines and drums were found in vehicle linked to the suspects, along with over 3,500 rounds of ammunition. Both men held legal firearms licences “for both non-restricted and restricted firearms,” Bérubé adds.

In addition, more than 30 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered. Though police say the IEDs were “not sophisticated” and appeared to be homemade, they had the potential to cause death and serious injury.

“There was no evidence that the explosives had been obtained from outside sources but had rather been manufactured by the suspects,” Bérubé said, noting a search of the men’s home turned up more IEDs and “material used to manufacture the explosive devices.”

What the suspects planned to do with the IEDs is not known.

BC RCMP Major Crime Unit Superintendent Sanjaya Wijayakoon says there were 22 innocent people inside the bank when the suspects entered wearing full body armour, armed with semi-automatic SKS rifles.

“They were prepared for significant violence,” Wijayakoon said.

Bérubé says the suspects were “inside the bank for just over 16 minutes.”

“Surveillance footage also showed one suspect discharging his rifle inside the bank. The time spent in the bank and their actions made it apparent to police that the objective of the robbery was not to obtain money, but rather to generate an armed confrontation with police,” he explained.

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Six officers were hurt in the shootout, which left the brothers dead.

“The actions of the officers on that day saved countless lives,” Bérubé said.

Given the amount of ammunition recovered and the goal police believe the suspects had, investigators stress the situation could have been significantly worse.

Neither man had a criminal record or were known to police prior to the incident.

Suspects initially planned shootout for 2023: police

Meanwhile, it’s believed by investigators that the shootout location — the bank — was chosen “at random” by the suspects, who had initially planned to carry out the attack at a later date.

“Through careful analysis of evidence gathered, investigators believe that the suspects’ original plan was to have a shootout in mid 2023 at an unknown location, but they moved up the date due to having to move out of the house in which they lived,” Bérubé explained.

“The suspects concluded that they could not move their arsenal of weapons to a new location without attracting attention, thus selecting the bank location at random.”

Citing “copious amounts of evidence gathered,” Bérubé says it was determined that the brothers were “isolated from society and harbouring deep-seeded resentment and anger towards authority.”

“They were fully prepared for the consequences,” he added.