It is one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history. At least 10 people were killed and 15 wounded in stabbing attacks Sunday in two isolated Canadian towns, including one with a large indigenous population, police said on a manhunt to find two suspects.
Hunt
In response to emergency calls, police found 10 bodies in the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby town of Weldon, Saskatchewan, Western Province, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said in a statement. a press conference.
“Several other victims were injured, 15 of whom have so far been transported to various hospitals,” he added, adding that police were searching for “two suspects” and investigating “the numerous crime scenes.”
The suspects have been identified, two men named Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson, ages 30 and 31, black hair and brown eyes. They allegedly fled in a black Nissan Rogue, he said. The police forces were deployed “to the maximum” to capture them.
“Horrifying and shocking” attacks
“Today’s attacks in Saskatchewan are horrific and heartbreaking. My thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones and those who have been injured,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter.
Prime Minister Scott Moe said he “doesn’t have words to adequately describe the pain and loss caused by this senseless violence.”
Police had received a first call at 05:40 local time (11:40 GMT) reporting a knife attack in the James Smith Cree Nation, followed by others.
The James Smith Cree Nation town of 2,500 has declared a local state of emergency. Saskatchewan residents have also been asked to stay home for safety.
“Critical Patients”
Weldon resident Diane Shier told local Canadian Press that her neighbor, who lived with her grandson, had been killed. “I am very affected because I lost a good neighbor,” she said.
Authorities believe “some of the victims were attacked by the suspects and others were attacked randomly,” he said, stressing that it was too early to discuss the motive for the attacks.
The suspects were first reported in Regina, the provincial capital located more than 300 kilometers to the south. The alert and search then spread to the neighboring provinces of Manitoba and Alberta, a vast region half the size of Europe.
Saskatchewan’s health authority told AFP it had activated emergency protocols to deal with “a high number of critical patients.” Three helicopters and a doctor were dispatched from Saskatoon and Regina to transport the stabbing victims.
In recent years, Canada has experienced a succession of events of rare violence. In April 2020, a shooter posing as a police officer killed 16 people in Nova Scotia. In January 2017, six people were killed and five injured in attacks on a mosque in Quebec. And in 2018, a pickup truck driver struck pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 and injuring 16.
Source: BFM TV
