Canadian police are searching for two suspects in Saskatchewan in one of the worst mass murders in the country’s history, which left 10 dead in indigenous communities and neighboring towns.
The suspects, identified as Damien Sanderson, 31, and Miles Sanderson, 30, injured 15 people in a series of knife attacks, prompting the James Smith Cree Nation to declare a state of emergency and He terrorized the residents of the nearby village of Weldon.
“Nobody in this town will ever sleep again. They will be afraid to open the door,” said Ruby Works, a Weldon resident who was close to one of the victims.
Update #5 to Dangerous Person Alert issued by Melfort RCMP: #RCMPSK The suspect received reports that he may have been traveling in the Arcola Ave area of SK Regina in a black SK Licensed 119 MPI Nissan Rogue at approximately 11:45 am. pic.twitter.com/dYlVTmP1CL
— RCMP Saskatchewan (@RCMPSK) September 4, 2022
A vehicle allegedly carrying the two suspects was found in Regina, 208 miles south of the stabbing area, police said.
Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said Sunday night he believed the suspect was in Regina.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a Twitter message: Do not leave your safe place. Do not approach suspicious persons. Do not pick up hitchhikers. Report any suspicious persons, emergencies, or information to her 9-1-1. Do not publish police locations. ”
“It’s horrible what happened in our state today,” said Rhonda Blackmore, assistant commissioner of the RCMP in Saskatchewan, adding that 13 crime scenes were found dead or injured. rice field.
Blackmore said some of the victims were targeted by suspects, while others were randomly attacked.
She was unable to provide a motive, but the head of the League of Sovereign Indigenous Peoples issued a statement suggesting the sting may be drug-related.
Elected leaders of the three communities that make up the James Smith Cree Nation, including the Chakastaypasin Band and the Peter Chapman Band, have declared a local emergency and opened two emergency operations centers.
Calvin Sanderson, the head of Chakastaypasin, who has no connection to the suspect, said everyone was affected by the tragic events.
“They were our relatives and friends,” Sanderson said of the victims. “It’s pretty terrifying.”
Bobby Cameron, chief of staff for the League of Sovereign Indigenous Peoples, said: our people. “
Among the ten murdered victims was Lana Head, former partner of Michael Brett Burns and mother of two daughters.
Burns told the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, “I feel sick that imprisonment, drugs and alcohol have claimed so many lives.”
Last May, the Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers issued a wanted list that included Miles Sanderson, writing that he was “illegally fugitive.”
This is one of the deadliest mass murders in Canadian history. The deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history occurred in 2020 when a man disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fire across Nova Scotia, killing 22 people.
In 2019, a man killed 10 pedestrians in a van in Toronto. However, mass murder is not as common in Canada as it is in the United States.
