A pane of glass shattered by a bullet framed and mounted near the front door of Squeaky’s Laundromat is a daily reminder of the deadly gunfight that took place two years ago today on the other side of Shelbourne Street.
The bullet blasted through a window near the cash register and came to a stop inside a folded duvet. It was dug out later by police investigators.
Business owner Edward Park and his family moved to Canada from South Korea in 2000, choosing Victoria because it was a quiet, safe place.
He loves the capital region still, saying he will never leave.
When the shooting started, Park, who had done compulsory military training in South Korea, immediately recognized the sound of gunfire.
“I told all my employees to lay down.”
But even with his training, watching events unfold was far beyond Park’s own experience.
“It was such a terrible tragedy … it was a kind of war.”
Some employees were startled a few days later by the sound of fireworks — even when expecting them — on Canada Day, Park said. “They were so shocked. They could not even sleep because it was a big trauma.”
As time passes, the event is something Park and others can talk about without becoming overwhelmed with emotion. However, if a loud blast occurs unexpectedly, it stirs up the memory of the shooting, he said.
Shortly after 11 a.m. on June 28, 2022, an explosion of gunfire shattered the quiet of the 3600 block of Shelbourne Street in Saanich.
It happened on a mild day in early summer. The plaza across the street was busy but calm, just as it is now. Not much has changed: residents push babies in strollers, shop for groceries, walk dogs, chat with friends, and pop into shops for lunch and other items.
These days, local residents are more likely to talk about the extensive and ongoing Shelbourne Street upgrading than events of two years ago.
But that day, police poured into the area after receiving reports of two armed men in body armour entering the Bank of Montreal branch at 3616 Shelbourne St.
Brothers Matthew and Isaac Auchterlonie, both 22 and each carrying a legally purchased SKS semi-automatic rifle, entered the bank and held 22 customers and staff inside.
The two headed outdoors as police arrived. A gunfight ensued, ending with the deaths of the brothers and traumatic injuries to six Saanich and Victoria police officers.
People huddled behind vehicles in the parking lot, pulled others to safety and took refuge in businesses in the plaza.
The bullet in Squeaky’s was fired by one of the brothers, said a report into what happened.
Police fired more than 100 rounds. The brothers did not intend to survive that day, the report said.
Civilians in the bank were taken to safety and were not physically harmed.
Ron Adams, who has lived behind the bank’s parking lot for 30 years, was alerted by a neighbour who called to say something was happening. He stood on a dining room chair to peer out his window just as a white van carrying the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team pulled up to the bank’s front door.
The air exploded with the sounds of shooting, sounding like gang warfare to Adams, who had dropped to the floor for safety.
“The biggest thing was the loudness.”
He telephoned his son saying: “I don’t know what’s going on but there’s been hundreds of gunshots.”
Because the shooting was so close, Adams wondered if any bullets would penetrate his house.
“It was all a blur at that point.”
He called wife Rosarie at work but was so wound up she couldn’t make out what he was saying at first.
When the shooting ended, police came to the door and said they had to leave the house. Adams collected his neighbour and they went to his cousin’s home. Adams and Rosarie spent the night at their son’s home.
Police were in the area for days. A group of officers scoured Adams’ yard, finding 15 bullets, including one that had gone through a seat cushion. Each was marked with an orange flag, he said.
“There were police officers everywhere for days and days and days.”
Officers were “amazing,” Adams said, describing them as polite and kind.
The shooting hasn’t changed Adams’ view of his neighbourhood or personal safety.
“I think it was a once-in-a-lifetime situation.”
At Booster Juice in the plaza, a customer told staff that a robbery was taking place across the street. “We thought he was kidding,” Kiranjit Bassi said.
The blinds were up in the bank and two men with guns were visible, said Bassi, who vividly recalls the shooting.
“It was horrible.”
People in businesses were told to leave by police. A friend of Bassi’s took her to her own home. Bassi said she didn’t sleep properly for three nights.
Dan Broadbent, owner of Mac’s Cycle, echoes what many have said — they never thought something like this would happen in “sleepy Saanich.”
Like others, Broadbent has moved on from the day and it rarely comes to mind.
Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock said the shooting had a “profound effect on our community that will never be forgotten.
“Our community is grateful to the officers and first responders who put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe.
“The well-being of the officers and responders, their families and loved ones will always be our priority.”
Marlene Davie, past-president of the Mount Tolmie Community Association, said police had a staging area at the Chevron service station, kitty corner from the bank.
Area residents brought coffee and food for the officers.
In the aftermath of the shooting, “we supported the businesses the best we could.”
The association is “always building community,” she said, referring to meet-and-greets in a local park and long time participation in the Block Watch program.
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