During a shootout at a bank in British Columbia on Tuesday, two individuals were killed and six officers were hurt, and adjacent residences had to be evacuated after a potentially explosive device was found, according to police.
Around 11 a.m. (1800 GMT), emergency response team members arrived at the Bank of Montreal in Saanich, on Vancouver Island, close to the border with the U.S. state of Washington, according to law authorities.
Saanich police stated on their website that “this remains a police incident with a substantial police presence in the neighborhood.”
Due to the existence of a potential explosive device in a car connected to the suspects, homes, and businesses adjacent to the scene of the incident have been evacuated.
The block near the bank remained closed due to the potential device, according to police, who later announced that they were lifting the shelter-in-place order.
According to early accounts, the individuals seemed to be wearing body armor and were “heavily armed,” according to Saanich police Chief Dean Duthie.
Six police officers were injured by gunfire and rushed to the hospital; some will soon be released, but others “received quite critical injuries and have been put into surgery,” according to Duthie.
A video that was shared on social media showed police officers on foot in pursuit with a police dog while gunfire was blazing. According to CBC News, police have asked any witnesses to provide video proof.
The fact that no citizens were hurt in any manner is simply astounding, according to what I know about that chaotic, tragic, dynamic, violent scenario, Duthie remarked.
The violence, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “shocked and saddened” him, he wrote on Twitter.
Trudeau stated, “I’m keeping in my thoughts the police officers who were hurt in today’s incident, and their colleagues who also rushed into danger to keep people safe.
