BC Island District RCMP and the Vancouver Island Major Crime Unit have released more details about the devastating bank shooting in Saanich last year.
The shooting resulted in six officers being shot and two suspects being killed on June 28, 2022.
Superintendent Sanjya Wijayakoon with the BC RCMP Major Crime Section released a statement detailing the suspects’ motives behind the violent BC bank shooting.
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Twenty-two innocent people were inside a Bank of Montreal in Saanich, where the incident occurred. The suspects were armed with semi-automatic SKS rifles.
The BC RCMP confirms that the suspects involved in the bank shootout acted alone and “were prepared for significant violence.”
RCMP adds that the suspects were motivated by “anti-authority beliefs.”
Corporal Alex Bérubé states, “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 concerning firearms ownership.”
Bérubé added that the suspects were unknown to police, but evidence indicated the suspects held strong “anti-government, anti-police, and anti-authority views.”
“Personal annotations were recovered expressing their outrage at the restriction of their access to firearm and body armour.”
Bérubé also states that the original plan was to have the shootout in mid-2023 and that they had been planning an “act of extreme violence since at least 2019.”
According to the RCMP statement, the suspects held valid possession and acquisition Licences for non-restricted and restricted firearms.
The officers injured in the BC bank shootout are still on the road to recovery.
“To all officers who were affected as a result, our thoughts are with you and your families, as you continue on your road to recovery,” said Wijayakoon.
#bcrcmpIslandDistrict – VIIMCU released their concluding report on the bank robbery and attempted murder of Vancouver Island police officers https://t.co/8iwfGlnOdg pic.twitter.com/RrBuIbRZBw
— BCRCMP (@BCRCMP) January 20, 2023