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
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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.
‘We don’t want this to be glorified’: Family members speak out during press conference
ICYMI: The half-brother of one of the victims said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that he would like to address his relative’s death, Bonnie “Goodvoice” Burns.
“A lot of people out there wondering what happened. Well honestly we don’t know,” said the relative, who asked not to be identified by his name during the press conference.
He was joined on a panel by Bonnie’s husband, Brian Burns, and his three surviving sons in the audience.
“I was at the scene on Sunday,” he said, noting that they would discuss some of those details in the presser and that some of those details “will be a little harsh to here, we’re gonna speak the truth.”
“She’s not a victim, she’s a hero,” he said.
“That’s what we want people to remember ... how she made people laugh, at kids birthdays, at weddings, at celebrations,” said the relative.
Watch the live conference here.
Youngest victim killed in Saskatchewan stabbings was 23
Thomas Burns, a 23-year-old man from James Smith Cree Nation, was the youngest person to die in the “abhorrent” stabbing attacks that unfolded on Sunday in northern Saskatchewan.
ICYMI: The RCMP in Saskatchewan released the identities of all the individuals who were killed in the brutal attacks, which included the 23-year-old.
Local news reports had said earlier that authorities had confirmed that the youngest victim to die in the attacks had been born in 1999. An 11-year-old boy, whose mother and brother were killed on Sunday, was also stabbed and injured but was released from hospital on Monday with stitches.
Read the full report on all of the victims killed with The Independent below:
‘Random’ victims of Saskatchewan stabbings named by police
‘No one in this town is ever going to sleep again,’ niece of 77-year-old victim says
Saskatchewan stabbings suspect made ‘goodbye’ trip to loved ones after deadly attacks, report says
ICYMI: Saskatchewan stabbings suspect Myles Sanderson reportedly made a final “goodbye” trip to visit friends and family in Regina after carrying out one of the deadliest mass killings in Canadian history.
The intel that the force had originally received about Myles Sanderson still being in Regina seems to have stemmed from an initial sighting on Sunday that placed him in the front seat of a black Nissan Rogue on Arcola Avenue, a main thoroughfare that cuts through the city’s east end.
That call came in at 11.40am, approximately six hours after the first 911 calls were placed at James Smith Cree Nation, which is more than a three-hour drive away from where he was reportedly later seen on Sunday.
A new report from The Daily Beast could shed more light on that sighting, with unnamed sources close to the manhunt saying they believe the 32-year-old suspect had driven into Regina to make a round of goodbyes to family and friends and “to see [those Regina connections] for the last time”.
Keep reading the full report below with The Independent:
Saskatchewan stabbings suspect made ‘goodbye’ trip after deadly attacks: report
Myles Sanderson was reportedly last seen in the front seat of a black Nissan Rogue on a Regina street at 11.40am on Sunday, more than six hours after the first 911 call was placed
First Nations organisation warns of racist content with ‘hate speech’ circulating online in wake of Saskatchewan stabbing attacks
ICYMI: The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations issued a statement this week after a series of racist videos and comments began circulating online that featured what the Saskatchewan-based organisation described as “hate speech” against Indigenous people.
APTN first reported on a video that was being shared on TikTok, which showed a man citing the recent stabbings attack in northern Saskatchewan saying: “If you won’t say it I will, long live Gerald Stanley,” the man in the video said. “Shoot, shovel, shut up.”
The apparent reference that the man in the video was making was to a 2016 incident where a farmer named Gerald Stanely shot and killed an Indigenous man, named Colten Boushie, on his farm near Biggar, Saskatchewan. Boushie, who was 22 years old and was from Red Pheasant Cree Nation, died while Mr Stanley was later acquitted.
“So many of our First Nations families, allies and Canadians have stood in solidarity with us during this past day and a half. We appreciate your prayers and condolences on the horrific events that have unravelled and ask for your assistance,” wrote the FSIN in a statement.
“Racism and promoting hate speech on social media is a criminal act and won’t be tolerated. Please be advised that FSIN is calling for NRZIGS to be charged with hate speech and his employer, Ellard Farms will be contacted.”
ICYMI: Myles Sanderson had 59 criminal convictions and was released by a parole board 7 months before the deadly attacks
ICYMI: Myles Sanderson, 30, had reportedly racked up 59 criminal convictions after turning 18, parole board records show.
In February 2022, a Parole Board of Canada found that Myles Sanderson would “not present an undue risk,” and freeing him would “contribute to the protection of society” by facilitating his reintegration, Global News reported.
“The Board is satisfied that your risk is manageable in the community, if you live with your [blacked out] maintain sobriety and employment, and continue with developing supports, including getting therapy,” the board wrote, according to documents obtained by the national news broadcaster.
The Minister of Public Safety told reporters in Vancouver that review of that decision would be conducted, noting that the “process for a review begins there, but it certainly does not end at that point.”
“I am assured that the Parole Board of Canada will be undertaking an investigation of the decision,” Marco Mendicino told reporters in Vancouver.
Read more about Myles Sanderson’s lengthy criminal record with The Independent below:
Saskatchewan parole board said Myles Sanderson didn’t pose risk months before attacks
After turning 18, the 30-year-old at-large suspect had racked up nearly 60 criminal convictions, parole board records show
Families members express ‘disappointment’ about getting answers
Four days after a manhunt spread out across the province of Saskatchewan to catch and arrest the two men suspected of carrying out one of Canada’s deadliest mass killings in modern history, both men lie dead.
“Disappointed the families won’t get the answers now,” a text message sent to CBC reporter Devin Heroux read, from a resident of the James Smith Cree Nation.
Shortly after being arrested, Myles Sanderson, 32, went into medical distress, Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP said at a news conference on Wednesday night.
He was pronounced dead at a hospital in Saskatoon soon after, she added.
Myles Sanderson was accused of stabbing in-laws seven years before deadly attack, report
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.
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.
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.
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.
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