Saskatchewan stabbings: Second suspect dead after days on run following mass attack killing 10

Damien and Myles Sanderson, who are both still considered suspects in the Saskatchewan stabbings, died before being brought to justice

10 dead and 18 injured in mass stabbings across Saskatchewan, Canada

The second suspect in the stabbing spree that killed 10 and wounded 18 people across rural Canada over the weekend has died from self-inflicted wounds after his truck was run off the road by police.

An official told the Associated Press that Myles Sanderson, 32, died after being captured around 3.30pm CST on Wednesday near the town of Rosthern, Saskatchewan.

Earlier Royal Canadian Mounted Police released the names of the 10 people who were killed during the Saskatchewan stabbings, who ranged in age from 23 to 78.

One day earlier, Damien Sanderson, 31, the second suspect and brother of Myles, was found dead from wounds that did not appear to be self-inflicted, police said.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said during a press conference on Wednesday night that with the deaths of both Myles and Damien, who she noted was still considered a suspect, the motive behind the carnage that unfolded on Sunday may never be known.

“His motivation may, at this time and forever, may only be known to Myles,” she said.

Key Points

• Second Saskatchewan suspect dead from self-inflected wounds after 10 killed in one of Canada’s worst attacks
• Saskatchewan stabbing suspect Myles Sanderson in police custody
• Video emerges of apparent arrest of Myles Sanderson
• Police identify all the victims killed in stabbings
• Canada to review parole board decision that freed suspect months before attack

[8 September 2022 20:06 · Johanna Chisholm]

Timeline of Myles Sanderson’s arrest

On Sunday 4 September at 5.40am, local authorities in Saskatchewan would begin what would become a four-day investigation into a series of stabbings that left 10 victims dead and another 18 wounded in small northern communities.

That investigation would kick-off a manhunt, after the second suspect in the attacks, Myles Sanderson, evaded capture and left residents throughout the province in an anxious and unsettled state for more than 80 hours.

Here is a summary of the RCMP’s timeline that led to the 32-year-old suspect’s arrest:

· Wednesday, September 7, 2022, 2.07pm: Wakaw RCMP receive a 911 report of a break-and-enter in progress in the Wakaw detachment area. Further information provided stated Myles Sanderson was standing outside of a residence, northeast of Wakaw, and was armed with a knife. Sanderson stole a white Chevrolet Avalanche truck with Saskatchewan license plate 953-LPL and fled the property. The homeowner was not injured.

· The Saskatchewan RCMP Operational Communications Centre continued to receive additional reports of Myles travelling in a vehicle.

· All available police resources in that region immediately responded to the report.

· 2.49pm: An emergency alert was issued to residents.

· 2.49pm-3.35pm: The Saskatchewan RCMP Operational Communications Centre received more than 20 calls from the public with potential sightings of the white Chevrolet Avalanche.

· The white Chevy truck was seen by a Rosthern RCMP officer driving in an unmarked vehicle, traveling west along highway 1 toward Rosthern at a speed recorded at 150 km/h.

· 3.30pm: The suspect vehicle was seen travelling south on Highway 11, south of Rosthern. To ensure the safety of drivers on the highway, the vehicle was directed off the road into a nearby ditch by officers.

· Police officers surrounded the vehicle and through verbal identification, confirm the identity of the driver to be Myles Sanderson. He was arrested by police and taken into custody. A knife was located inside the vehicle.

· 3.50pm: The emergency alert was cancelled once the identity was confirmed and taken into police custody.

· Shortly after his arrest, police say Myles Sanderson went into medical distress. Nearby EMS were called by police to attend the scene and was transported to a hospital in Saskatoon. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

[8 September 2022 20:35 · Johanna Chisholm]

Days before he was arrested by RCMP on Wednesday afternoon, Myles Sanderson reportedly made one last “goodbye” trip 300km south of the James Smith Cree Nation to Regina, where he said his final farewells to friends and families, The Daily Beast reported.

Shortly after being arrested by Saskatchewan RCMP, the 32-year-old suspect in the mass killing event died while in police custody after authorities say he went into medical distress. He was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after, the force said.

Read the full report from The Independent below:

[8 September 2022 21:06 · Johanna Chisholm]

Myles Sanderson was accused of stabbing in-laws seven years before deadly attack, report

ICYMI: Myles Sanderson carried out a similar stabbing attack years before with two of the victims in Sunday’s attack being former victims of the 32-year-old in 2015, Global News reported.

Court documents from 2015 show that the suspect in the Saskatchewan stabbings, who died in police custody on Wednesday shortly after being arrested, was accused of trying to kill Earl Burns by “repeatedly stabbing with a knife.”

Earl Burns was announced as one of the victims who were killed during Sunday’s brutal stabbing attacks carried out throughout James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon in northern Saskatchewan.

Burns’ wife, Joyce Burns, was also named in the 2015 court files as being attacked by Myles Sanderson. The pair were named as the 32-year-old’s in-laws in the court documents.

Joyce Burns was reportedly one of the 18 victims who was injured in the stabbing attacks on Sunday, Global News reported, while her husband, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, died from his wounds.

[8 September 2022 21:30 · Johanna Chisholm]

FSIN says capture of Myles Sanderson will bring closure

“Our communities can now begin the lengthy process of healing through culture, spirituality, and other denominations,” wrote Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

“Now is the time for our community as a whole to come together in support of the James Smith Cree Nation and the victim from Weldon. Together we need to support these families and these communities in their healing journeys.”

[8 September 2022 22:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

Motive behind attacks may ‘forever’ be lost, RCMP says

With the deaths of both suspects in the deadly Saskatchewan stabbings being confirmed this week, police have said that the motive behind the attacks may never be known.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore confirmed as much during a press conference delivered on Wednesday night, shortly after Myles had been apprehended by authorities.

“His motivation may, at this time and forever, may only be known to Myles,” she said.

[8 September 2022 22:30 · Johanna Chisholm]

RCMP requests independent probe into attacks

The Saskatchewan RCMP said that they have requested for an independent probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of Myles Sanderson, the second suspect in the mass killing who died shortly after being brought into custody by RCMP on Wednesday.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said that the Canadian police force has tapped the Saskatoon police and the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) to oversee the investigation into Myles Sanderson’s death.

The results of the 32-year-old’s autopsy, she added, will not be released, citing the ongoing investigation into his death.

The Saskatchewan RCMP also requested the Ministry of Justice appoint an independent investigation observer in accordance with Section 91.1 of the Saskatchewan Police Act.

[8 September 2022 23:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

Investigators conducted more than 150 interviews with witnesses and victims, RCMP say

The RCMP described the magnitude of the investigation that resulted in Myles Sanderson’s arrest on Wednesday afternoon as “immense”, tapping into the resources of over 160 Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario RCMP in addition to other municipal partner agency employees.

Since Sunday, the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Divisional Emergency Operations Center (DEOC) “has been staffed 24 hours a day with a combination of police officer and civilian employees”.

Of what the RCMP were able to disclose during the briefing, this week officers employed with the Canadian authorities have conducted over 150 interviews with witnesses and victims, completed 400 investigative tasks, issued 11 emergency alerts to notify the public, met with community members and continued to provide support services to work with families and victims, taking a trauma-informed approach to ensure survivors are cared for, the force said.