1 suspect found dead in deadly Canadian stabbing attacks, 2nd suspect at large, believed injured

Police in Saskatchewan, Canada, said Monday afternoon that one of two brothers suspected of stabbing 29 people on Sunday in and near the James Smith Cree Nation had been found dead. The body of Damien Sanderson, 31, "was located outdoors in a heavily grassed area in proximity to a house that was being examined," Rhonda Blackmore, assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said at a news conference. "We can confirm he has visible injuries. These injuries are not believed to be self inflicted at this point."

The second suspect, Myles Sanderson, 30, is still at large, likely armed, and believed to be hiding visible wounds that may prompt him to seek medical treatment, Blackmore said. She said police are investigating the possibility that Myles Sanderson killed his brother, but "we can't say that definitively at this point in time."

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Sunday's stabbing spree left at least 10 people dead at 13 locations on James Smith Cree Nation lands and in the nearby town of Weldon, about 200 miles north of the regional capital, Regina. Myles Sanderson was last spotted in Regina, though he may have switched vehicles and driven in an unknown direction. Authorities have issued alerts in Saskatchewan and neighboring Manitoba and Alberta provinces, and contacted U.S. Border Patrol.

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"Mass killings are uncommon in Canada relative to the neighboring United States," The Washington Post notes, and Sunday's was one of the deadliest on record. "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," The Associated Press reports. "In 2019, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto."

Police have not publicly speculated on what prompted Sunday's stabbings, but indigenous leaders and tribal residents suggested the murders may have been drug-related. "This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities, and we demand all authorities to take direction from the chiefs and councils and their membership to create safer and healthier communities for our people," said Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.