Businesses around the area of Tuesday’s deadly shooting are getting back to business after a tumultuous few days.
Saanich Police had blocked off the area surrounding the Bank of Montreal on Shelbourne street to investigate the incident, and cleared all businesses to reopen Saturday afternoon.
The Saanich Police Department and the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit would like to express our sincere appreciation to the public for their patience as our investigators worked tirelessly to complete the challenging protracted investigation of the scene. #Saanich
— Saanich Police (@SaanichPolice) July 2, 2022
Squeaky’s Laundromat was one of those businesses that was required to be closed by police. Once the initial investigation ended, it came to much of owner Edward Park’s surprise that investigators found a bullet had hit his business.
“It was terrifying for me and my employees to find out that a bullet went through our laundromat,” said Park.
When the shooting was taking place, Park and his employees heard banging sounds outside but were unaware that Squeaky’s Laundromat was hit.
Park doesn’t know if it was one of the two suspects or police who fired into his businesses, but he’s grateful no one who was in Squeaky’s Laundromat at the time was hurt.
However, closing down for a few days wasn’t easy.
“We were closed for the past five days and we lost a lot of sales,” said Park.
Squeaky’s Laundromat wasn’t the only nearby business that had to shut down. Cloud Nine Cannabis was also forced to close, leading to a sales decrease of 30 to 40 per cent. Despite the scene cleared up at the bank, floor manager Gabriel Christie says some employees are still very much traumatized by what they witnessed.
“Everyone’s on edge right now, a couple of people are scared to come to work,” said Christie. “I can imagine that has a huge impact on someone’s head they’re going to be thinking about that all the time. I still hear it and I just saw a video.”
The Bank of Montreal where the crime scene took place has also re-opened. Business owners and residents surrounding the area hope something like this won’t happen again.
Mohammed Hussain
