Multiple improvised explosive devices were found in a car linked to two suspected robbers who were shot dead outside a bank in Saanich / British Columbia.
 

RCMP's bomb disposal unit was able to move the devices from the car to a local landfill and destroy them, Dean Duthie said on Wednesday.

The police had evacuated the area shortly after the shooting on Tuesday when the bomb squad was called.

Six officers were shot and two suspects were killed in the shootout with police on Tuesday.

Duthie said three of the officers are still in hospital, including one in intensive care, while another officer will require further surgeries.

He spoke with one of the officers in hospital and said the police department would be there to support him.

Adding, "We are here for his family... just to let him know that all the police stand behind him 100 percent."

The police chief said they are still investigating the possibility of a third suspect, although they do not believe there is any danger to the public.

Explaining, the police were acting on vague information. Speaking about the police request that residents near the bank stay indoors on Tuesday, he said, "Our goal was to maintain public safety."

The police said in a statement that they are unable to confirm the identities, backgrounds, or motives of the suspects, and work is ongoing to try to confirm the names of the suspects.

Meanwhile, Duthie reviewed much of the video footage of the incident and said it is a miracle that no one else was killed.

He said, "It is amazing that no citizen or member of the public was injured," praising the quick actions taken by the officers who responded.

Both patrol officers and emergency response officers in Greater Victoria put themselves in harm’s way to bring it to a successful and safe conclusion as quickly as possible.

A woman trapped inside the bank during the robbery told CFAX radio that she was in a meeting with the manager when she heard a blast and then silence.

Shalee Fryer, 59, of Langford, said she looked out from the entrance and was just a few feet away from "a man wearing full tactical gear and carrying an assault rifle." Fryer said the masked man was dressed entirely in black, was wearing a bulletproof vest over his jacket, and was carrying a black rifle that was shorter and less bulky than what was seen in the media. She said, "The energy on their side was completely calm." She heard one of the armed men quietly say to the manager, "Vault," and the manager handed him the keys and they both left the office, according to her.
 

Fryer said the other suspect was pacing back and forth in front of the office "as if taking a stroll in the park, as if waiting for something." She said the robbers lined up all 22 people in the bank against a wall in a back hall and waited what felt like an eternity. "We never heard anything about what was happening outside. We couldn’t hear sirens." She heard loudly, "Police!" then a volley of gunfire, and everyone ran to hide. Fryer said every police officer involved in the "totally crazy incident" conducted themselves professionally, then later treated those inside the bank with kindness and care.