No one inside the bank was injured, Duthie said, noting that it was one of the most violent scenes he has seen in his nearly 27 years in Saanich, a town on Vancouver Island in Greater Victoria.
“What I know about this chaotic, tragic, dynamic, violent scene, the fact that no civilians were injured in any way, is truly amazing,” Duthie said.
Police initially responded to the scene around 11 a.m. after receiving reports that two gunmen had entered a bank.
Officers arrested the suspects outside the bank, Duthie told a news conference. The suspects were heavily armed and believed to be wearing armor, he said.
Three officers from the Saanich Police Department and three members of the Victoria Police Department were injured during the clash.
“There were a lot of shootings,” said Joan Flood, a Saanich resident who told CNN she was in her fourth-floor apartment across from the bank when the shooting occurred.
“I heard a shot and I was standing and I went back to the living room and then I saw the police coming to the bank with their guns out,” he said.
As Flood said as the scene unfolded, she saw a person fall to the ground and not get up again.
“As I was watching, a man came from behind the bench leaning over, which definitely looked like he was injured,” he said. “And they started crawling and then they lay down and stayed that way.”
Three of the injured police officers were expected to be released from the hospital, while the other three underwent surgery with more serious injuries, Duthy said on Tuesday.
Homes and businesses near the site were evacuated due to a possible explosive device on a vehicle linked to the suspects, he added.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police told CNN they were assisting Saanich police.
