Officials say a Saanich police officer who was seriously injured in a bank shootout nearly two weeks ago has seen his condition improve enough to move out of an intensive care unit.
The officer was one of six members of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team injured in the June 28 shootout at the Bank of Montreal on Shelbourne Street.
Of those, only two Saanich officers remain in hospital, while an additional Saanich member and three Victoria Police officers are all recovering at home, with the last VicPD officer released from hospital on Friday.
“The Saanich Police Department continues to move forward along the road of recovery and healing, which is heavily fueled by community and interagency care, support, trust and confidence,” Saanich Police Chief Const. Dean Duthie said in a statement.
“Our officers, civilian staff, and volunteers are deeply inspired by the strength and determination of our two officers in hospital as they continue to make day-to-day improvements. We are all very pleased to know that VicPD’s officers are now all at home resting and recovering.”
Victoria Police Chief Const. Del Manak said the community support in the aftermath of the shooting has been “overwhelming.”
“I especially want to thank all of the medical professionals who cared for our injured officers and helped them on their road to recovery,” he said. “Having this officer home and resting with his family is the next step in our recovery process, and we continue to keep those officers recovering, both in hospital and at home, in our thoughts.”
All of the officers involved in the shooting are undergoing weeks of specialized training at a local gun range following the traumatic incident.
The training will see officers exposed to firearms and gunfire as they work with a psychologist, and will allow participants to choose areas of training they’d like to focus on as they re-acclimate to their workplaces.
Investigators have identified the suspects in the shooting, who were both killed in the shootout, as twin brothers from Duncan, Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie. Neither had criminal records and the pair was not known to police.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit, which has assumed conduct of the investigation, has not provided any new details since confirming the twins’ identities July 2.
VIIMCU is asking anyone with information on the shooting to call them at 250-380-6211.
Jeff Lawrence
