In one of the bloodiest mass murders in Canadian history, police hunted across the vast province of Saskatchewan for two men who are suspected of stabbing to death 10 people in an Indigenous community and a nearby town.
The suspects also caused 15 injuries in the string of stabbings that prompted the James Smith Cree Nation to declare a state of emergency and horrified the citizens of Weldon, a neighboring village.
“Nobody will ever sleep in this town again. Ruby Works, a resident of Weldon and a close friend of one of the victims, predicted that they would be scared to open their door.
In the meantime, police said that a vehicle believed to be transporting the two suspects had been seen in Regina, which is located approximately 208 miles (335 kilometers) south of the areas where the stabbings took place.
Evan Bray, the chief of police in Regina, stated late Sunday that investigators continue to believe the suspects are in Regina.
“Take care and think about sheltering in place if you’re in the Regina area. Never leave a safe place. AVOID approaching shady characters. Hitchhikers should not be picked up. Call 9-1-1 to report suspicious people, emergencies, or information. Keep police locations private, the RCMP warned on Twitter.
Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, 30, were named as the suspects.
Rhonda Blackmore, the Assistant Commissioner of the RCMP in Saskatchewan, said, “It is awful what has happened in our province today,” adding that there were 13 crime scenes where either dead or injured victims were discovered.
Blackmore claimed that while some of the victims appeared to have been singled out for attack by the accused, other victims appeared to have been victimized at random.
She was unable to give a reason, but the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations’ chief made a statement that implied drugs may have been a factor in the stabbings.
Two emergency operations centers were established by the elected officials of the Chakastaypasin Band and the Peter Chapman Band, two of the three communities that make up the James Smith Cree Nation.
Everyone has been impacted by the unfortunate occurrences, according to Chakastaypasin Chief Calvin Sanderson, who is not related to the accused.
The victims, according to Sanderson, were “our families, our friends.” It is quite horrifying.
Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations said, “This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities. We demand that all authorities take direction from the Chiefs and Councils and their membership to create safer and healthier communities for our people.
Lana Head, the mother of Michael Brett Burns’ two daughters and his ex-partner, was one of the 10 people that died.
Burns told the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, “It’s disgusting how prison time, drugs, and alcohol can destroy many lives. I’m hurt by all of these losses.
Myles Sanderson was listed as wanted by Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers in May of last year, stating that he was “illegally at large.”
The assault is one of Canada’s bloodiest mass murders in recorded history. In 2020, a man posing as a police officer carried out the bloodiest gun spree in Canadian history, murdering 22 people while opening fire across the province of Nova Scotia and shooting people inside their houses. In Toronto in 2019, a person killed 10 pedestrians while driving a van. However, mass murders are less frequent in Canada than they are in the US.
Although deadly mass stabbings are less common than mass shootings, they do occur occasionally. 29 people were fatally stabbed and slashed in 2014 at a train station in Kunming, a city in southwest China. 19 persons lost their lives in a mass stabbing that occurred in 2016 at a facility for the mentally challenged in Sagamihara, Japan. A year later, three men attacked London Bridge with a car and stabbed eight people to death.
Doreen Lees, an 89-year-old grandmother from Weldon, claimed that while drinking coffee on her deck early on Sunday morning, a car sped past and she and her daughter believed they had spotted one of the suspects. Lees claimed a man came up to them and claimed to be hurt and in need of assistance.
However, according to Lees, the man fled after her daughter indicated she would phone for assistance.
“He refused to reveal his face. His face was covered by a large jacket. He kind of mumbled his name twice when we asked him for it, and we were still unable to understand it, she claimed. “He said the damage to his face was so severe he couldn’t display it.”
She claimed the man was by himself and “kind of a little wobbly.”
“I followed him a short distance to make sure he would be OK. Don’t follow him, my daughter pleaded; come back here.
Wes Petterson has been identified as one of the victims by Weldon locals. The 77-year-old widower, according to Ruby Works, was like an uncle to her.
“I fell to the ground after collapsing. She recalled hearing the news and saying, “I’ve known him since I was only a tiny girl. She claimed that he cherished his animals, took great pride in his homemade Saskatoon berry jam, and frequently offered assistance to his neighbors.
“He took no action. He wasn’t entitled to this. He was a decent, compassionate man,” said Works.
Robert Rush, a local of Weldon, added that the victim was a kind-hearted widower in his 70s.
He claimed, “He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Rush claimed that Petterson’s grown grandson called the police while he was in the basement at the time.
The normal Sunday service at the Weldon Christian Tabernacle Church started with a special prayer for the victims and their families.
Community members from the James Smith Cree Nation gathered at a convenience store that also doubles as a gas station, where they exchanged hugs and tears of joy.
We shall be closed till further notice due to safety concerns with our community, said a sign on the entrance.
As spectators flocked to Regina for the traditional sold-out Labor Day game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, the search for suspects was underway.
In a news release, the Regina Police Service stated that it was collaborating with Mounties to search for and apprehend the individuals on numerous fronts and that it had “deployed additional resources for public safety around the city, including the football game at Mosaic Stadium.
As the two suspects remained at large, the notice that was initially issued by Melfort, Saskatchewan RCMP at 7 a.m. was later expanded to include Manitoba and Alberta.
According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority, numerous individuals were receiving care at various locations.
In response to the rush of victims, “a need for more employees was made,” authority spokeswoman Anne Linemann wrote in an email.
In a statement, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, expressed his shock and devastation at the awful attacks.
Trudeau added, “We grieve with the people of Saskatchewan and with all those impacted by this horrific murder.
