The yellow police tape that coloured a stretch of Carey Road over the weekend has disappeared, and so have the police officers that scoured lawns and sidewalks for evidence.
Heavy police presence this afternoon in #Saanich on Carey Road at Baker St. #yyj 📸 : Bruce Arbeau pic.twitter.com/97ON4kAKKo
— Victoria News (@VictoriaNews) September 30, 2018
Only the beeping of garbage trucks making their morning runs on this Monday morning interrupts the tranquility that has once again descended upon this quiet Saanich neighbourhood.
Less than 48 hours after an assault in broad daylight left a 41-year-old person with serious injuries, everything appears back to normal. Or so it seems. But appearances can be deceptive as residents continue to try to understand what happened Saturday afternoon just after 3 p.m.
Worse, Saturday’s incident and subsequent investigation was not the only incident that rattled residents living on or near Carey Road.
Residents of Barrington Road, a cul-de-sac near the intersection of Carey Road and Baker Street, Sunday were witnesses to a large police response that involved a Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team.
Mae Tan stands in the doorway of her Carey Road house Monday morning. She balances her baby son in one hand, while her four-year-old daughter stands next to her.
“I was quite concerned,” she said, when asked about Saturday’s assault. “I thought there might be a public safety issue,” she said.
Tan was not home when the incident happened, but she witnessed the extensive investigation that followed and lasted well into Sunday afternoon, when officers were walking around her house, looking for evidence.
She was especially eager for information about what had happened, but none was forthcoming. “Nobody has given us an official statement,” she said. “We were just waiting around.”
Harold Klein, a senior, was at this home having a shower when he witnessed police and other crews arrive shortly after 3 p.m. He never saw the victim of the assault, nor the individual whom police arrested. But the police presence was significant.
“There was a pile of them,” he said in a matter-of-fact manner.
While Klein has lived in the neighbourhood for three decades, he never experienced anything like what had happened on Saturday.
“I was upset, of course,” he said.
Hugh Deas-Dawlish, Klein’s neighbour, was not at home, when the incident happened, returning home later that day. But like so many area residents, the investigation impacted him.
“They [police] were in my front yard, and even in my backyard, looking for evidence,” he said. With Carey Road blocked off near the intersection with McKenzie and Glanford avenues, police even appeared reluctant to let residents leave.
“They definitely did not want us to leave,” he said.
Police continue to remain tight-lipped about the identity of the victim and the attacker, except to say that the individuals involved know each other.
Linh Do, who lives near the house where the incident allegedly took place, said the victim was the friend of a tenant living in that house, a point confirmed by another resident familiar with the incident, who did not wish to reveal his identity because of his employment with the Canadian government.
Other details also remain shrouded or unconfirmed. For example, police have yet to say whether the assault involved a weapon.
Do certainly feared the worse based on the size of the police presence. “I first thought they had a shooting,” she said.
RELATED: UPDATE: Police track Royal Oak break and enter suspects to Saanich home
Sunday morning Saanich police responded to a call in the 700-block of Paskin Way, where two men aged 32 and 42 were found to have committed a break and enter.
The investigation led to a home in the 4100-block of Barrington Road, where witnesses say officers, including a tactical unit and the B.C. ambulance crews remained on scene for much of the day.
Residents of Barrington Road heard loud bangs when officers set off flash bombs during what can be described as a stand-off with two individuals linked to a robbery.
Police eventually arrested two men during the incident.
While several kilometres separated the scenes of both incidents, residents at both sites shared at least thing in common: confusion about what had just happened.
Several Barrington Road residents, who spoke with Saanich News Sunday afternoon, said they had no idea what was exactly happening mere metres away from them.
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