A woman held hostage at the scene of an attempted bank robbery and deadly shootout in Saanich, BC Tuesday told reporters she wonders why the gunmen didn’t leave with the money, but rather lingered in an “eerie” manner..The incident unfolded around 11 a.m. Tuesday when officers with Saanich police, Victoria police, and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) received and responded to reports of two armed men having entered a bank in the 3600-block of Shelbourne Street..Upon arrival, multiple officers encountered the armed suspects, leading to a shootout..Two suspects were shot and killed by police and six officers suffered gunshot wounds..Shelli Fryer, a 59-year-old woman from Langford, BC was one of 22 people held hostage when the still unidentified gunmen entered the Shelbourne Street bank..In an interview with CTV News, Fryer said she had been inside the building for two minutes when she heard a “loud boom.”."I look around and I can see that everyone has gotten down on the floor," she said.."And I look up in the doorway and not even two feet away from me is a man in full assault gear, holding an assault rifle.”.In the interview Fryer said the man was wearing black clothing from head to toe with an armoured vest over his jacket and a completely covered face, including his eyes..She said “the energy from them was completely calm,” and one assailant was pacing and speaking intermittently..“Just walking back and forth past the office I was in like he was going for a walk in the park, just pacing as if he was waiting for something,” she said..Once the gunman closest to her walked past the office door, she grabbed the phone and dialed 911, whispering to operators that armed robbers were inside the bank..One of the suspects then ordered everyone to move towards a nearby hallway, Fryer told CTV..“I was trying to hide,” she said..“I guess he saw me because he stood there and motioned with a hand gesture and I got up.”.Fryer slid her phone away and followed the gunman to a back hallway where everyone else was lined up against the wall..She said it was “dead silent” the entire time until a loud voice announced that police were present, followed by a “hail of gunfire.”.Fryer, with most of the others, took cover in a nearby room where they waited. After what Fryer believes to have been an hour, police entered and told everyone to stay put for the time being.."I just don’t know what they wanted. What were they waiting for?" she told CTV.."They could have just taken the money and left right away. They would have been in and out before the police got there.”.In a Wednesday afternoon update, Saanich police said three of the officers have been released from hospital and are recovering at home, whereas the other three wounded officers remain in hospital following surgery — two of whom will require additional surgeries over the coming months..One officer remains in intensive care..Explosives were also found, however police have not commented further, nor have police confirmed the suspects' identities..The Western Standard reached out to Fryer but has yet to receive a response.
