2 dead, 6 officers shot and injured during Saanich, B.C. bank robbery

SAANICH, British Columbia — Six police officers on Vancouver Island in British Columbia were shot and injured during a bank robbery on Tuesday.

Two of the three suspects involved in the robbery were killed following the shooting at the Bank of Montreal in Saanich, B.C. The third got away.

At around 11 a.m., officers from several agencies were called to a report of armed suspects at a bank in the 3600 block of Shelbourne Street.

When police arrived, two of the gunmen started firing at police, according to the Victoria Police Department.

Three officers with the Saanich Police Department were hit by gunfire and three others were with the Victoria Police Department.

“At this time we anticipate that some officers will be released following emergency treatment, whereas other officers sustained very serious injuries and have been taken into surgery,” Saanich Police Chief Const. Dean Duthie told CTV News at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

One witness told CTV that he saw two officers get shot and saw another on the ground.

A woman who was in the area with her son said she heard multiple gunshots, possibly up to 50 in rapid succession.

No bank employees, customers or members of the public were believed to have been injured in the shooting, police said.

A shelter-in-place advisory remains in effect in the area as police search for a potential third suspect. Homes and businesses in the area were also evacuated due to a potentially explosive device that was found in a vehicle connected to one of the suspects.

The shooting is being investigated by the Independent Investigations Office in British Columbia.

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