Arial View of Weldon Saskatchewan looking Northwest in May 2009.
Source – Weldongeezer, Public Domain
Canadian police hunted for two suspects in a stabbing spree that killed 10 people and wounded at least 15 others early Sunday.
The police are searching across the expansive province of Saskatchewan for two suspects, Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, age 30, believed to have stabbed to death 10 people in an Indigenous community and a nearby town in one of the deadliest mass killings in the country’s history.
The stabbings occurred across 13 different locations in the remote indigenous community of James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Weldon, according to The BBC.
At least 15 others were injured in the killing spree, with police urging residents to be extremely vigilant as they conduct a search across one of Canada’s largest and most remote regions.
As a result of this ongoing investigation, Saskatchewan RCMP has now charged both men.
“I am shocked and devastated by the horrific attacks today,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “As Canadians, we mourn with everyone affected by this tragic violence, and with the people of Saskatchewan.”
A state of emergency was declared in the James Smith Cree Nation – a community of about 2,000 residents north-east of the village of Weldon, which is home to just 200 people.
“Do not leave a secure location. Use caution allowing others into your residence,” Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) warned people across the area.
A statement by indigenous leaders indicated the attacks may have been drug-related. “This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities,” said the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations. The group represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan.
A .mother of two was among the 10 people killed, local media reported, citing the woman’s former partner.
At a news briefing on Sunday evening, police said there could be more injured people than the 15 they already knew about, who had taken themselves to hospital.
