Arrest warrants issued for suspects in stabbing rampage that left 10 dead
Posted September 4, 2022 3:08 pm.
Last Updated September 5, 2022 3:30 pm.
Saskatchewan RCMP says arrest warrants have been issued for two suspects in a deadly stabbing rampage that left 10 people dead and 18 others injured.
Damien and Myles Sanderson are wanted on charges including first-degree murder and attempted murder.
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.
A dangerous persons alert remains in effect from Alberta to Manitoba for Damien, 31, and Myles, 30.
Saskatchewan RCMP revealed Monday they have now charged both wanted men with first-degree murder, three counts for Myles and one count for Damien.
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.
“To the people of Saskatchewan and beyond, please be assured that we are using every human, an investigational and technological resource we have available to locate and arrest the persons responsible for this tragedy and to ensure your safety,” says Saskatchewan RCMP Commander Rhonda Blackmore.
Regina Police Service, Alberta RCMP, and Manitoba RCMP are also assisting in the investigation.
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.
https://twitter.com/rcmpsk/status/1566866864378101760?s=21&t=FibcaDRS4S46ewgZnSXuFA
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.”
Prime Minister Trudeau is expected to address the nation at 4 p.m. ET on Monday.
Please read my full statement on the attacks in Saskatchewan: https://t.co/YEYHR6utxo
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 5, 2022
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.
“We believe some of the victims have been targeted by the suspects, and others have been attacked randomly,” said Blackmore to reporters in Regina.
“It is horrific what has occurred in our province today.”
Blackmore initially said 15 injured were taken to hospital but added there might be more who sought medical help on their own. The RCMP updated the injured total to 18 on Monday.
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.
“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 are unknown.”
‘I lost a good neighbour’
Weldon residents have identified one of the victims as Wes Petterson.
Ruby Works said the 77-year-old widower was like an uncle to her.
“I collapsed and hit the ground. I’ve known him since I was just a little girl,” she said, describing the moment she heard the news.
She said he loved his cats, was proud of his homemade Saskatoon berry jam and frequently helped out his neighbours.
“He didn’t do anything. He didn’t deserve this. He was a good, kind-hearted man,” said Works.
She said the event had shaken a community where the sounds of sirens are rarely heard.
“No one in this town is ever going to sleep again. They’re going to be terrified to open their door,” she said.
Diane Shier said she was in her garden Sunday morning when she noticed emergency crews a couple of blocks away.
“I am very upset because I lost a good neighbour.”
Investigators with protective equipment enter a house in a crime scene in Weldon, Sask., Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. Saskatchewan RCMP has confirmed that there are 10 dead while 15 are injured following the stabbings that occurred at James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon in Saskatchewan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
Weldon resident Robert Rush also described the victim as a gentle, widowed man in his 70s.
“He wouldn’t hurt a fly,” he said.
Rush said Petterson’s adult grandson was in the basement at the time and phoned the 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.
At the Weldon Christian Tabernacle Church, the congregation began their regular Sunday service by saying a special prayer to the victims and their families.
At the James Smith Cree Nation, a convenience store that also serves as a gas station became a gathering place for community members, who greeted each other with tears and hugs.
A sign on the door said: “Due to safety concerns with our community, we will remain closed until further notice.”
The elected leaders of the three communities that make up the James Smith Cree Nation, including the Chakastaypasin Band and the Peter Chapman Band, declared a local state of emergency on Sunday.
Chakastaypasin Chief Calvin Sanderson said he’d left his phone off on Sunday morning and only learned of the tragic events when community members came to his door to check on him.
Everyone’s been affected, he said.
“They were our relatives, friends. Mostly we’re all related here, so it’s pretty hard,” Sanderson said. “It’s pretty horrific.”
The emergency declaration, which was released by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, said two emergency operations centres had been set up.
Multiple patients, multiple sites
The Saskatchewan Health Authority says multiple patients are being treated at multiple 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, says two helicopters were dispatched from Saskatoon and another from Regina. Two carried patients from the scene to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, while the third carried a patient to Royal University from a hospital in Melfort.
Oddan says due to privacy laws, he is not able to disclose information about their ages, genders or conditions.
He says other patients were transported by ground ambulance to hospitals in Prince Albert, Nipawin and Melfort, but he didn’t know how many.
Oddan says the second chopper dispatched from Saskatoon carried a transport physician to the scene to assist with operations on the ground, but he did not know the location.
