Investigation breaks down suspects' movements ahead of bank shootout in Saanich, B.C.
Brothers drove around the area of the bank for more than an hour before going inside, Mounties say
RCMP have released the findings of a months-long investigation — involving more than 200 police officers across 10 different departments and divisions — into a shootout at a bank in Saanich, B.C., that left six officers physically wounded and two suspects dead last June.
Part of the investigation focused on the movement of the suspects, brothers Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie, in the hours and minutes before they went heavily armed into a community bank on Shelbourne Street with the goal to lure police and shoot them as they responded to what they believed to be a robbery.
A timeline compiled with cellphone data and various video was detailed on Friday.
Click on locations above to get details of the suspects' movements.
8:26 a.m. — Suspects head toward Saanich
At the time of the shooting, the brothers lived in their mother's home around Mill Bay. The small community is about 43 kilometres north of Saanich.
RCMP said cellphone data suggested the suspects were in the area and headed south toward Saanich and Victoria at 8:26 a.m. PT.
They were travelling in their white Toyota Camry with black racing stripes — a distinct, older vehicle which would later lead police to identify them as suspects.
The men were dressed in baggy windbreakers over olive-coloured body armour, "rigid protection" covering their lower legs, black balaclavas, combat boots and gloves.
Both carried 7.62 mm calibre SKS semi-automatic rifles with extended magazines. One had a large sheath knife tucked into his belt.
Police would later find a large cache of guns, ammunition and 30 homemade explosive devices inside their car. RCMP said the men each had a firearms licence, though they had prohibited magazines and one of the guns had been illegally altered.
9:06 a.m. — Suspects drive around Saanich
RCMP said the suspects were in and around the Bank of Montreal branch on Shelbourne Street at 9:06 a.m.
For the next hour and 15 minutes, the pair drove in "loops" around the area — though police could not provide exact locations.
10:24 - 10:30 a.m. — Suspects zero in on bank
RCMP said the brothers' Camry was seen driving back and forth on Pear Street, south of the bank, at 10:24 a.m.
Three minutes later, they drove into the parking lot and left after 20 seconds.
At 10:30, the Camry was seen again driving in and out of the BMO parking lot.
Mounties said it's believed the BMO location was chosen at random.
10:54 a.m. — Toyota Camry passes location where it was found after shooting
The suspects' car was seen on surveillance video passing a bus in the BMO parking lot, near the location where it would be found parked after the shooting.
In total, RCMP said the Toyota Camry was captured 27 times on security footage in the area of the bank.
11:02 a.m. — Suspects enter the bank
RCMP and police have said the Auchterlonies went into the BMO branch just after 11 a.m. Investigators on Friday said they got cash fairly quickly, but stayed in the bank for more than 11 minutes. A separate report said they were pacing and looking out the window.
The delay stood out to investigators as unusual, since robbery suspects usually escape quickly after getting cash. The suspects' decision to stay, among other evidence, reinforced RCMP's belief that the brothers went into the bank looking for an armed confrontation with police and not money.
While inside, the men held 22 people hostage, including staff and civilians.
Around this time, officers from the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) and Saanich Police Department responded to 911 calls.
11:18 a.m. — Suspects leave bank
RCMP said the men left the bank 16 minutes after they went inside. Mounties' investigation did not focus on what transpired afterward, though details were released in a report from B.C.'s police watchdog in December.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIOBC) said the brothers walked into the parking lot just as an unmarked van carrying seven GVERT officers pulled up.
CCTV cameras captured one of the brothers turning to face the van as it pulled in and raising his rifle toward the vehicle, the report said.
One of the officers opened a sliding door and tossed out a flashbang device, intending to distract the two bank robbers so they could be safely arrested.
"Unfortunately, what transpired instead, almost simultaneously with the detonation of the NFDD [noise flash diversionary device], was a lethal exchange of gunfire," the report said.
Six police officers were injured in the shootout, one of whom required intensive care. The last one was released in September after 71 days in hospital, having faced considerable rehabilitation after undergoing multiple surgeries.
The suspects were killed. Autopsies later revealed that one brother had been hit by three police bullets, the other by nine.
12:32 p.m. - Residents warned to shelter in place
Investigators initially feared there was a third suspect involved in the shooting based on immediate witness accounts, information from hostages and a two-way walkie-talkie found with the suspects. Some people unrelated to the crime were also seen wearing camouflage in the community after the shooting, rattling first responders already on high alert.
Police issued a shelter-in-place advisory several blocks on either side of the bank at 12:32 p.m., saying they were looking for a potential third person involved in the robbery. People living in the quiet residential area were told to stay inside.
5:56 p.m. - Sheltering order lifted
Police lifted then shelter in place order just before 6 p.m.
On Friday, RCMP said they ruled out the possibility of a third suspect after speaking with witnesses and canvassing the area. Some witnesses, investigators said, had confused GVERT first responders in the unmarked van as suspects.
Surveillance footage of the Toyota Camry later confirmed the brothers had been sitting alone in the car's front seats with no one in the back.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Bethany Lindsay