Knife attacks in Canada: a suspect found dead, the other on the run

Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers from James Smith Cree Nation, Saskatchewan, September 5, 2022. DAVID STOBBE / REUTERS The body of one of the two suspects in the knife attacks that killed ten people on Sunday and eighteen wounded in Canada, was found in one of the localities where the murders took place, announced Monday, September 5, the police. While the authorities suspected a leak in Regina, capital of the province of Saskatchewan which is more than 300 km from the scene of the tragedy, the body of Damien Sanderson, 31, who bore several “visible injuries”, was discovered in the Aboriginal community at James Smith Cree Nation. He was “in a grassy area, near a house being examined,” said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore. Also read: In Canada, knife attacks in indigenous communities leave ten dead, two suspects on the run The other suspect, his brother Myles Sanderson, 35, is still considered at large and may have been injured, he said. she added during a press conference. He might be in “need of care”. “We cannot say for sure how Damian died, but he may have been killed by his brother,” she added. Hundreds of police mobilized The police said that Myles Sanderson represented a “threat”. “We always recommend people to be vigilant, it is considered dangerous. His actions showed that he is violent,” the police further explained. Myles Sanderson is, according to the Saskatoon Police Department, wanted by law enforcement since last May for failing to comply with his judicial control. He had been sentenced to nearly five years in prison, notably for theft. Hundreds of police have been mobilized since Sunday to find these men suspected of a series of attacks whose motive remains unexplained. The police counted thirteen crime scenes in remote localities in the center-west of the country, including an indigenous community. No information was immediately released on the victims by the authorities. But the majority of them are indigenous. In Canada, they represent about 5% of the country’s population – estimated at more than 38 million inhabitants – and live in communities often ravaged by unemployment and poverty. According to the police, some victims were targeted by the suspects and others were attacked randomly. Read also Article reserved for our subscribers In Canada, the horror of residential schools for Aboriginal children The locality of James Smith Cree Nation, which has 2,500 inhabitants, has declared a state of emergency locally. Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations leader Bobby Cameron lamented “the unspeakable violence that has claimed the lives of innocent people”. In a statement, he blamed the attacks on “illegal drugs that invade our communities”. Attacks “have become too common”, deplores Trudeau In recent years, Canada has experienced a succession of events of rare violence. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lamented on Monday that such deadly attacks have “become too common” in the country. In April 2020, a shooter impersonated a police officer, killing twenty-two people in Nova Scotia. In January 2017, six people were killed and five were injured in attacks that targeted a mosque in Quebec. “This type of violence has no place in our country,” he said, urging residents of the province to be careful and to cooperate with the police. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Quebec elected officials confronted with a climate of political violence Several international leaders have expressed their support for Canada after this tragedy. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke of the “horrifying and devastating” attacks, and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid tweeted that his country stood “with Canadians in the face of such senseless violence”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said she was “horrified”, promised to “pay tribute to the victims” during her visit to Saskatoon in two weeks. The World with AFP