One of two fugitives sought following a stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan has been found dead.
RCMP say the body of Damien Sanderson, 31, was found Monday morning on the James Smith Cree Nation, where some of the attacks took place Sunday morning.
Those attacks left 10 others dead and 18 others injured.
“(Sanderson’s) body was located outdoors in a heavily grassed area in proximity to a house that was being examined,” Rhonda Blackmore, the assistant RCMP commissioner in charge of Saskatchewan, told reporters.
“He has visible injuries. His injuries are not believed to be self-inflicted.”
Police continue to search for the second fugitive, Damien’s 30-year-old brother, Myles Sanderson, and say he may be wounded.
“(He) may have sustained injuries. This has not been confirmed but we do want the public to know this because there is a possibility he may seek medical attention,” said Blackmore.
“Even if he is injured, it doesn’t mean he is not still dangerous.”
Blackmore said Myles Sanderson has a lengthy criminal record for property crimes, and violence against people. He has been charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and break and enter.
Asked if Myles Sanderson was responsible for his brother’s death, Blackmore said they’re investigating that possibility, but “we can’t say that definitively at this point in time.”
“We can’t say for sure how Damien came to be deceased.”
She declined to describe further details of how Damien Sanderson died.
Since Sunday morning, police have been scouring Regina, a three-hour drive south, following a report the suspects had been seen in the reported getaway vehicle, a black Nissan Rogue.
Regina police Chief Evan Bray said the hunt continues in the Saskatchewan capital.
“The most recent, reliable information we have says that (Myles) is Regina or was in Regina,” said Bray.
“(The information) is a day old. We acknowledge that. But we have nothing that can tell us differently, so we’re going to continue to operate on that.
“Keep in mind this is eyewitness information that provided details on seeing the car (and) confirming the plate.”
RCMP said the victims were attacked early Sunday at 13 locations in and around the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon.
Blackmore has said they believe some of the victims were targeted and others were randomly attacked. They declined to provide details in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
There’s been no official word on the identities of the stabbing victims.
Blackmore said she believes all the victims were stabbed and while there is a wide range of victim ages, there were no children attacked. She said the youngest victim was born in 1999.
Residents in the neighbouring provinces of Alberta and Manitoba have been warned to keep a lookout for the remaining fugitive. Investigators said they are receiving help from RCMP in those provinces and other police agencies.
Myles Sanderson is described as six-foot-one and 200 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Police have not found the Nissan Rogue. It bears a Saskatchewan licence plate 119 MPI.
On Monday afternoon, RCMP issued another dangerous persons alert following a shooting 200 kilometres west on the Witchekan Lake First Nation. However, they said it was not believed to be connected to the stabbings.
James Smith Cree Nation was closed to the public amid heavy police presence and some reporters were asked to leave.
The streets in Weldon were all but deserted, with doors closed and curtains drawn, as police patrolled the area. Many residents declined media interviews.
Ruby Works stopped to place flowers outside the home of one of the victims, identified by several residents as 77-year-old Wes Petterson.
Earlier, Doreen Lees, an 89-year-old resident from Weldon, said she and her daughter thought they saw one of the suspects when a car came barrelling down her street early Sunday.
Lees said a man approached them and said he was hurt and needed help, but he took off when her daughter said she would call for help.
“He wouldn’t show his face. He had a big jacket over his face. We asked his name and he kind of mumbled his name twice and we still couldn’t get it,” she said. “He said his face was injured so bad he couldn’t show it.”
Lees said she was concerned and started to follow him, but her daughter told her to come back to the house.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, in a video posted to social media, said the province has augmented police with extra security, including protections at hospitals where the victims are being treated.
“Yesterday’s attacks were horrific beyond anything that any of us could ever imagine,” said Moe.
“There are no words to adequately describe the pain and loss suffered by the victims’ families — this loss caused by these evil, vicious, senseless attacks.
“All of Saskatchewan grieves with you.”
His office has said flags at provincial government buildings will be lowered to half-mast one day for each person killed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa he has spoken to James Smith chiefs and with Moe.
“The federal government will be there with the resources necessary right now, in this time of crisis, but also will continue to work as partners in the weeks, months, and years to come through grieving and healing,” he said.
He said flags will also fly at half-mast at federal government buildings in Saskatchewan and at the Peace Tower in Ottawa.
“Sadly over these past years, tragedies like these have become all too commonplace,” he added.
“Saskatchewanians and Canadians will do what we always do in times of difficulty and anguish: we’ll be there for each other.”
— With files from the Associated Press
