UPDATE MONDAY: RCMP still searching for suspects after 10 dead, 15 injured in Saskatchewan stabbings
UPDATE: 7:00 a.m. Sept, 5, 2022
Investigators continued their “relentless” manhunt Monday for two suspects accused in a series of stabbings that left 10 people dead and at least 15 others injured in rural Saskatchewan a day earlier.
The men were still on the lam 24 hours after officials first issued an emergency alert warning residents of the rampage on the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby village of Weldon, Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said in a video posted to Twitter early Monday morning.
“This despite ongoing, relentless efforts through the night by both the RCMP and the Regina Police Service to locate these two individuals,” he said.
“…We’ve got a fresh set of investigators and shifts coming in today that will take over this investigation. And we will not stop this investigation until we have those two safely in custody.”
Meanwhile, RCMP said they planned to provide another update later Monday morning.
A dangerous persons alert remains in effect from Alberta to Manitoba for Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, 30.
Damien Sanderson is described as five feet, seven inches tall and 155 pounds, and Myles Sanderson as six-foot-one and 200 pounds.
Both have black hair and brown eyes and may be driving a black Nissan Rogue with licence plate 119 MPI, although police have said it is possible they have switched vehicles.
Investigators have said the attacks took place at 13 different locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, with police getting the first reports on the First Nation before 6 a.m. Sunday.
Emergency responders took 15 survivors to hospital, but they say it’s possible more people were injured and sought treatment on their own.
Investigators have said some of the victims were targeted while others were chosen at random, though they did not say how they know.
There’s been no official word on the identities of the victims, but Weldon residents have identified one of the deceased as 77-year-old Wes Petterson.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe tweeted his condolences Sunday to the family and friends of the victims, with his office later saying flags at provincial government buildings will be lowered to half-mast one day for each person killed.
In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “shocked and devastated by the horrific attacks,” adding all Canadians offer their support as they mourn with the people of Saskatchewan and “everyone affected by this tragic violence.”
Although RCMP did not release details about a motive, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron said in a news release that drugs were a possibility.
(The Canadian Press)
==
Original story: Sept. 4, 2002
A stabbing rampage on a Saskatchewan First Nation and in a nearby village left 10 people dead and 15 others injured, provincial RCMP said Sunday as officers continued to search for two suspects in the case.
“We believe some of the victims have been targeted by the suspects and others have been attacked randomly,” Rhonda Blackmore, the assistant commissioner in charge of Saskatchewan RCMP, told reporters in Regina.
“It is horrific what has occurred in our province today.”
Blackmore said the 15 injured were taken to hospital but there may be more who sought medical help on their own.
The attacks took place at 13 different locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, she said.
She declined to comment on how officers know some of the victims were targeted, saying that remains part of the investigation.
Blackmore said police began receiving reports before 6 a.m. of stabbings on the First Nation. More reports of attacks quickly followed and by midday police issued a warning that a vehicle reportedly carrying the two suspects had been spotted in Regina.
Officers began scouring the city and security was boosted at Mosaic Stadium, as thousands of fans descended on the city for a sold out annual Labour Day game between the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
A dangerous persons alert for Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, 30, was also in effect from Alberta to Manitoba.
“If Damien and Myles are listening, or receive this information, I would ask that they turn themselves into police immediately,” said Blackmore.
“They’re considered armed and dangerous … at this point we don’t know if they have changed vehicles since this morning. Their location and direction of travel is unknown.”
Damien Sanderson is described as five feet seven inches tall and 155 pounds, and Myles Sanderson as six-foot-one and 200 pounds. Both have black hair and brown eyes and may be driving a black Nissan Rogue with licence plate 119 MPI.
Weldon resident Diane Shier said she was in her garden Sunday morning when she noticed emergency crews a couple of blocks away.
Shier said her neighbour, a man who lived with his grandson, was killed. She did not want to identify the victim out of respect for his family.
“I am very upset because I lost a good neighbour.”
Weldon resident Robert Rush also described the victim as a gentle, widowed man in his 70s. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
He said the victim’s adult grandson was in the basement at the time and phoned police.
“He stayed down there until they were gone.”
Rush said people in Weldon believe the suspects left the village. Later Sunday, he drove to Prince Albert to buy a cake for his wife’s birthday and left his granddaughter at home.
“I gave her two guns and a bat,” Rush said.
The James Smith Cree Nation said it had declared a state of emergency and set up two operations centres to support people in the area.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority said multiple patients were being treated at several sites.
“A call for additional staff was issued to respond to the influx of casualties,” authority spokeswoman Anne Linemann said in an email.
Mark Oddan, a spokesman with STARS Air Ambulance, said two helicopters were dispatched from Saskatoon and another from Regina.
He said two carried patients to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, while the third carried a patient to Royal University from a hospital in Melfort, a short distance southeast of Weldon.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe responded to the tragedy on Twitter.
“I want to offer my deepest condolences on behalf of the government and people of Saskatchewan to all of the family and friends of the victims of today’s horrific attacks,” said Moe.
— With files from Rob Drinkwater and Daniela Germano in Edmonton