1 suspect dead in Saskatchewan mass stabbing rampage, brother still at large

One suspect from the mass stabbing rampage on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, has been found dead, the RCMP confirmed on Monday.

Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore says the deceased was identified as 31-year-old Damien Sanderson, whose body was discovered outdoors in a grassy area on the James Smith Cree Nation.

“We can confirm [Damien] has visible injuries. These injuries are not believed to be self-inflicted at this point,” Blackmore said.

His brother, Myles Sanderson, is still wanted and is believed to be injured, though this was not confirmed.

Blackmore says Myles Sanderson could seek medical attention and urges everyone in the area to be vigilant and aware of this development. She says that authorities can’t say whether Myles is involved in the death of his brother Damien.

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Blackmore says that Myles has an extensive criminal record and is considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Regina Police Chief Evan Bray says investigators are still operating under the impression that Myles Sanderson is in Regina and that he was with another unknown person.

With Damien Sanderson’s death, 11 people have been confirmed dead.

Both Sanderson brothers were being sought in a massive search following a rampage of stabbings that left 10 people dead and at least 18 others injured in Saskatchewan and were charged with first-degree murder.

Myles is facing three counts of first-degree murder and is wanted by the police.

RCMP said the victims were attacked early Sunday at 13 locations in and around the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon. Authorities have given no motive for the crimes, but a senior Indigenous leader suggested drugs were somehow involved.

Assistant Commissioner Blackmore has said they believe some of the attacks were targeted and others were random but declined to provide details to preserve the investigation’s integrity.

Mounties said they continue to work with the police in Regina following a tip Sunday that a black Nissan Rogue the suspects were thought to be travelling in was spotted in the capital city.

Saskatchewan RCMP is looking for Damien and Myles Sanderson after multiple stabbings were reported in that province on Sunday, September 9, 2022. (RCMP/handout)

Myles Sanderson is described as six-foot-one and 200 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

A Crime Stoppers bulletin was also issued in late May for Myles Sanderson, warning he was unlawfully at large.

On Monday afternoon, RCMP issued another dangerous persons alert following a shooting 200 kilometres west of the Witchekan Lake First Nation. However, they said it was not believed to be connected to the stabbings.

Community on edge as search for suspect continues

With Myles Sanderson still at large as of late Monday, fear has gripped communities in the rural, working-class area of Saskatchewan surrounded by farmland that was terrorized by the crimes.

One witness who said he lost family members described seeing people with bloody wounds scattered throughout the In “Indigenous reserve.

“No one in this town is ever going to sleep again. They’re going to be terrified to open their door,” said Ruby Works, who also lost someone close to her and is a resident of Weldon, which has a population of about 200 and is home to many retirees.

As the Labor Day holiday weekend drew to a close Monday, police urged Saskatchewan residents returning from trips away to look for suspicious activity around their homes before entering.

The stabbing attack was among the deadliest mass killings in Canada, where such crimes are less common than in the United States.

The deadliest gun rampage in Canadian history happened in 2020, when a man disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires across the province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people. In 2019, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto.

James Smith Cree Nation resident Darryl Burns and his brother, Ivor Wayne Burns, said their sister, Gloria Lydia Burns, was a first responder who was killed while trying to respond to a call. Burns said his 62-year-old sister was on a crisis response team.

“She went on a call to a house, and she got caught up in the violence,” he said.

“She was there to help. She was a hero.”

He blamed drugs and pointed to the colonization of Indigenous people for the rampant drug and alcohol use on reserves.

“We had a murder-suicide here three years ago. My granddaughter and her boyfriend. Last year we had a double homicide. Now this year, we have 10 more that have passed away and all because of drugs and alcohol,” Darryl Burns said.

Ivor Wayne Burns also blamed drugs for his sister’s death and said the suspect brothers should not be hated.

“We have to forgive them boys,” he said.

“When you are doing hard drugs, when you are doing coke, and when you are doing heroin and crystal meth and those things, you are incapable of feeling. You stab somebody, and you think it’s funny. You stab them again, and you laugh.”

With files from Rob Gillies and Robert Bumsted of The Associated Press