10 dead and 15 injured in mass stabbing, suspects still at large

The Saskatchewan RCMP says 10 people have been killed, 15 are injured and 13 separate crime scenes have been set up following a stabbing spree that took place Sunday in the communities of James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon.

Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, the commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP, said police first received calls of a stabbing at 5:40 a.m. on the First Nation.

It wasn’t long until more reports started coming in.

“In the following minutes, we received multiple calls reporting additional stabbings at different locations in the community,” Blackmore said during a media conference. “Melfort RCMP officers and other resources were immediately dispatched to the locations in the community to help the victims and to track the two suspects.

“Our thoughts are with many victims deceased, injured, their families, friends and communities. It is horrific what has occurred in our province today.”

The RCMP initially sent out an alert describing the incident shortly after 7 a.m.

Blackmore says at this stage in the investigation, it’s believed some of the victims were targeted while others were attacked randomly within the impacted communities.

As of Sunday evening, the two suspects had not been caught, and their location was unknown.

“The Saskatchewan RCMP is committed and will remain committed to using every resource we have to locate and arrest these individuals,” Blackmore said.

“I can tell you that every avenue is being explored. Some of those involve technological resources, some involve human resources, we’re taking all steps possible to track these individuals.”

Sunday’s killings are being described as the deadliest homicide event in the history of the province.

Police checkstops have been set in place in some areas throughout Saskatchewan in hopes of finding the suspects.

The two suspects wanted by the police are Damien and Myles Sanderson.

Damien is described as being 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Myles is believed to be 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

The relationship between Damien and Myles is not known right now according to police.

Saskatchewan isn’t the only province on high alert right now according to Blackmore, as both Alberta and Manitoba police officials are watching closely.

“At this point in time, we have no indication that the suspects travelled to another province, but given the fact that they are in a vehicle, we can’t say with 100 per cent certainty where they are right now,” she said.

“We believe it’s prudent to notify the residents of those provinces that there is a possibility they could have travelled to those locations and making them aware of this current situation that we’re dealing with.”

Damien (left) and Myles Sanderson are wanted by the RCMP. (Logan Stein/980 CJME)

The RCMP says the suspects are believed to be in a black Nissan Rogue with Saskatchewan licence plate 119 MPI. However, they did say they don’t know if the men have changed vehicles.

Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray says there were reports from people in the public that the vehicle had been seen in Regina hours after the attacks.

“We’re operating as if the suspects are in the city,” Bray said as he answered questions. “At this point, we’ve got lots of resources similar to what the RCMP have dedicated to this, both in and around the city.

“If they have left the city, we will see if a sighting or if information comes to us from somewhere else, but until then we’re operating as if they’re here.”

Police are asking Regina residents to take precautions and consider sheltering in place amid the early stages of the investigation.

Bray believes someone knows something regarding where the two men are.

“I think it’s safe to say someone knows potentially the whereabouts of these suspects,” he said. “Someone who knows information that might be helpful to police, if so, this is a time where we are asking the public to reach out and help.”

More to come.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Shane Clausing