Both Isaac and Mathew Auchterlonie – the 22-year-old gun-obsessed brothers named as suspects in a botched bank robbery in Saanich, BC – have taken steps to join the Canadian military, the Department of National Defense has confirmed. But neither made it to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The two youths were killed in a shootout with police outside a Montreal bank a week ago. Six police officers were injured – all men and all serving with the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team. Three of the six police officers, who are hospitalized, suffered life-threatening injuries. One was a member of the Victoria Police Department. The other two served at the Saanich Police Department. Brothers in failed BC bank robbery were angry and radical, obsessed with guns and ‘government tyranny’ On Tuesday, the Saanich Police Department said one of its two officers is in stable condition, while the other remains in intensive care after three separate operations. “The injuries are significant,” Saanich Police Chief Constable Dean Duthie said. “It’s going to be a very long road.” Matthew has applied to join the Canadian Forces, the Department of National Defense told The Globe and Mail on Monday. It was thwarted by an aptitude test that it failed to pass. Citing “confidentiality,” media spokeswoman Jessica Lamirante said she could not say when Matthew’s application was made, nor when the failure occurred. The test is used to determine if applicants have the mental abilities required to enlist and which military occupation would suit them best. It has two written sections and an oral section. In 2018, Isaac completed the CAF soldier for a day program. Its purpose is to give potential recruits an idea of what a military career entails. Generally, they happen on a local basis. Vancouver Island has two Canadian Forces bases: CFB Comox on the central island and CFB Esquimault near Victoria. Isaac, at least, considered himself a military man and respected the military, according to his now-locked Instagram page. (Mathew’s social media pages were taken down before the brothers were named as suspects Sunday, friends told The Globe.) Friends have described Mathew as the stronger of the two. The Auchterlonie family has not issued a statement or responded to requests for interviews. But people who knew them say the two had become estranged in recent years and Isaac’s online profile, in which Mathew often appears, portrays them as increasingly angry, frustrated and obsessed with violence, guns and explosives. One incident that seems to have particularly fascinated the brothers was an attempted robbery in 1997 at a Bank of America branch in North Hollywood. This 25-year-old crime – still considered one of the most violent shootings in police history – is eerily reminiscent of what happened last week on Vancouver Island. Whether the brothers embarked on a suicide mission to mimic the previous crime is not yet known. RCMP, which is investigating the botched robbery, said Tuesday that no further information is planned. In both Los Angeles and Saanich, two young men entered banks wearing black balaclavas and bulletproof vests with body armor strapped to their legs. In Los Angeles, at least, the men were armed to the teeth, carrying high-caliber assault rifles. (The RCMP won’t say what weapons were used on Vancouver Island.) Shelli Fryer, the only one of the 22 people held hostage during the incident to address the media so far, said the brothers, who appeared calm and spoke quietly to the bank manager, were in no rush to leave. In North Hollywood, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Matasareanu managed to draw police into a 44-minute gun battle in a Laurel Canyon parking lot that injured 13. Both men were shot by police. Former Los Angeles SWAT officer Rick Massa told CNN that the two had “no regard for life,” adding “that was evident when they came out of the bank and started shooting at anyone who moved. They didn’t care.” Mr. Matasareanu’s mother later told the Los Angeles Times that she believed her son was on a suicide mission: “He can’t handle it anymore — those were his words. He told me he wanted to die.” RCMP have not said how long the brothers were shooting at police in the BMO lot, but from witness accounts, it was all over in several minutes. In another strange coincidence, the Auchterlonie brothers lived an hour and a half’s drive from two other young men acting on violent fantasies: Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod. After killing three people in northern B.C., the Port Alberni couple — ages 18 and 19, respectively — sparked one of the largest manhunts in Canadian history. We have a weekly Western Canada newsletter written by our BC and Alberta bureau chiefs, providing a comprehensive package of the news you need to know about the region and its position on the issues facing Canada. Sign up today.
