Police in Saanich, BC, announced Saturday that they were letting locals re-enter what for days was the scene of the crime, nearly a week after a shooting left six officers injured and two bank robbers dead.
But for witnesses to last Tuesday’s deadly violence, the trauma of the events lingers.
“The bullet [was] inside our Squeaky’s Laundromat, so it was very scary … very close, ”said laundromat owner Edward Park, whose business faces the bank involved.
Twenty-two-year-old twin brothers identified Saturday as Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie of Duncan City were killed in front of a Bank of Montreal branch in Saanich. Six officers were shot.
When the shots rang, Park and his employees fell to the ground seeking cover. Police later revealed that they found a bullet just above his hiding place, in some blankets.
“We were very lucky,” he said. Since then, it has focused on resuming its activities, serving customers.
“Maybe I’m a little weird … but I have to get back to business,” he said Thursday in an interview. “I think I can overcome the kind of terrifying trauma. That’s what I’m thinking.”
Members of the public look at the doors of Saanich, BC’s police department, on Thursday, where bouquets of flowers have been placed in support of the injured officers. (Susana da Silva / CBC)
The effects of witnessing violent incidents can last a long time after the police tape is removed.
Some develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that can include flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive memories, panic or emotional numbness, problems controlling emotions, and loss of self-esteem or self-esteem, the BC Ministry of Justice says.
“Being a victim of a crime … is a traumatic experience that can produce physical, emotional, and psychological responses that you don’t understand,” the province’s website for victims says. “It’s important to know that everyone experiences the effects of crime differently.”
“It will probably be repeated in their minds over and over again”
Saanich Police Chief Const. Dean Duthie says the day was heartbreaking for everyone: witnesses, police and bank staff. He thanked neighbors and businesses for their “understanding” in the midst of disrupting their lives.
“It will probably be repeated in their minds over and over again,” Duthie told reporters. “All customers and staff, please know that the Saanich police are thinking of you and hope you have support.”
Duthie said BC police victim services are available in Saanich. The program supports any witness or victim of crime. There is also a confidential telephone and text messaging service, VictimLinkBC.
Shelli Fryer, 59, speaks at her Langford home Wednesday about the lasting impacts of being trapped inside a Bank of Montreal branch in Saanich during the shooting. (CBC News)
‘It’s like mourning. Go through all the stages “
Shelli Fryer was a client taken hostage at the Bank of Montreal. Her voice was broken by emotion when she remembered that the police then entered the bank and apologized for the ordeal she and more than a dozen had suffered.
“Those officers … had six of their brothers who had been wounded running to the line of fire taken to arms to save us?” he said Wednesday in an interview.
Now, days later, he says his mood is still “back and forth.”
The 59-year-old woman said she has trouble sleeping. On Canada Day, I was still wide awake at 2:54 in the morning
The messages of support that have arrived since Tuesday, he said, have offered some of the consolation he was looking for and praised his courage during the test.
“There’s so much love I’m getting from all these strangers,” he said.
Fryer has been mentally reproducing Tuesday morning events since then.
The trauma of being held hostage comes in waves, he said. He spoke to the victim services and was told it would take time to process what happened.
He compared it to what some see as common “stages of mourning,” even though psychologists say not everyone processes loss in the same way or order.
“It’s back and forth, you know?” she said. “It’s like a mourning. You go through all the stages, right?
“Sometimes you may never get to the last stage.”