Two Vancouver Island Brothers Have Been Named As The Gunmen Killed During A Botched Bank Robbery In Saanich B.C.

For eight years, Justin Henry considered himself the best friend of both Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie. On Saturday, the 22-year-old brothers from central Vancouver Island were named as suspects in a botched robbery earlier this week at a Bank of Montreal branch in Saanich, BC—a Victorian bedroom community. Both youths were killed in a shootout with police outside the bank on Tuesday. Six police officers were shot, three of whom suffered life-threatening injuries. Police said they found — and later detonated — explosives in the brothers’ car, a white ’92 Toyota Camry with black racing stripes. Neither suspect had a criminal record, police said Saturday, and neither was known. “We understand that releasing the names of the two deceased may answer who, but there are still many outstanding questions and investigations that need to be done in order to fully understand what happened and why,” said Cpl. Alex Bérubé at a press conference on Saturday. “The motive behind the armed robbery and subsequent shootout with police has yet to be determined.” Berube said the brothers were identified Friday by the BC Medical Examiner’s Office. He said police have spoken with the suspects’ family and are cooperating with the investigation. The RCMP described them as twins at a news conference. But Mr. Henry and several other young men and women who spoke to The Globe and Mail said they were actually triplets and were left by their sister Sabrina. Mr. Henry said he first met the couple in 4th grade at Bench Elementary School in Cowichan Bay, BC. Mr. Henry described the Auchterlonie brothers, who he said grew up on a farm property on Shawnigan Lake, on central Vancouver Island, as “incredibly intelligent.” He could tell the two apart, but “they looked pretty much the same and used to get it wrong all the time.” Both were “very quiet and very shy,” she said. By high school at Frances Kelly Secondary School in Mill Bay, BC, when they started branching out, they were like two peas in a pod: One was rarely without the other. “They looked out for each other. It was a team.” Another friend, Tanner Jacobs, described them as “super nice, super friendly, decent, normal guys.” Mr. Henry recalled that when they were around 15, the brothers — who came from a hunting family and were legal gun owners — started going to the gym. They “did some cadet training” and were interested in military training. He said they were “always dressed in camo,” adding that they “liked blowing things up. That was their great interest.” He said the brothers’ Instagram pages, which are set to private, feature photos of them in regular gear. Sometime after high school, the brothers began to drift away from their friends, Mr. Henry and others recalled. Mr. Henry said he had not spoken to either brother for some years. “Something had to have happened to make them do something like that. They were very good children. This blows my mind.” Police said officers, including members of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team, were called around 11 a.m. Tuesday to a report that armed men had entered a Bank of Montreal branch and the shooting began when the suspects left the bank. It is unclear who fired first, but as many as 50 shots were fired during the exchange of fire, according to multiple witnesses. Police said the investigation has so far determined there were only two suspects at the bank. On Friday, the Saanich Police Association and the City of Victoria Police Association launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the officers injured in the shootout and their families. By Saturday night, it had surpassed its $100,000 goal. 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.