Canadian stabbing suspect Myles Sanderson dies
The fugitive arrested over the mass stabbing in Canada that killed 10 people and injured 18 has died after being cornered by police.
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The fugitive arrested over the mass stabbing in Canada that killed 10 people and injured 18 has died from “medical distress” after he was cornered by police.
Myles Sanderson was arrested after police rammed his stolen vehicle in the province of Saskatchewan about 3.30pm local time on Wednesday, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police statement said.
Earlier reports said Mr Sanderson died from self-inflicted wounds but police said the 32-year-old went into “medical distress” during the arrest and died, reports New York Post.
It comes days after the fugitive’s brother and fellow suspect, Damien Sanderson, 30, was found dead on Monday near a house on the James Smith Cree Nation that was being examined by police.
Police are investigating if Myles Sanderson, 32, killed his brother.
The brothers are suspected of stabbing 10 people to death and wounding 18 on the James Smith Cree reserve and nearby village of Weldon, devastating an indigenous community of 3400 people.
An official said Sanderson’s vehicle was rammed by police and he surrendered, according to Canadian media reports.
Police had earlier issued an alert warning of a man with knife driving a stolen White Chevy Suburban.
Myles Sanderson has been wanted as a fugitive since May when he stopped meeting his parole officer after serving time for assault, robbery and other offences, and had a criminal record of 59 convictions over two decades, CBC News reported.
Before he was captured, Saskatchewan RCMP Commanding Officer Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore warned the public that Myles Sanderson was “armed and dangerous”.
Ms Blackmore said Myles Sanderson had a violent criminal record that dates back years. Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers issued a wanted list last May calling him “unlawfully at large”.
Parole Board of Canada documents showed a 20-year criminal record including 59 convictions for assault, assault with a weapon, uttering threats, assaulting a police officer and robbery, according to The Globe and Mail.
He reportedly had a lifetime prohibited weapons ban due to his violent behaviour.
The documents said the Sanderson siblings grew up being physically abused and were exposed to substance abuse, neglect and violence. Myles Sanderson started drinking and smoking marijuana at age 12, used cocaine from 14, and started crystal meth in his late 20s, according to the documents.
He also has a history of associating with “gang members, drug dealers, pimps and people involved in the party scene,” the documents said.
“Your criminal history is very concerning, including the use of violence and weapons related to your index offences, and your history of domestic violence which victimised family, including your children and non-family,” reads the decision by the Parole Board of Canada from February of this year.
STABBING VICTIMS REVEALED
The two Saskatchewan communities where the stabbings took place — the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon — are small, tight-knit and relatively rural.
Police have not identified the victims, but most are from the James Smith Cree Nation.
On social media many members of the First Nations community paid tribute to loved ones killed in the stabbing rampage.
One was security guard Lana Head, 49, who had children aged 31 and 30.
Ms Head’s former partner, Michael Brett Burns, said she had died of her wounds.
“It’s sick how jail time, drugs and alcohol can destroy many lives,” Mr Burns told APTN News. “I’m hurt for all this loss.”
Canadian news reports said Gloria Burns, an emergency health worker, was killed after answering a call. Her parents Ivor and Darryl Burns said she was killed along with her partner and a 14-year-old.
And one resident of Weldon told a Saskatoon newspaper that her 77-year-old neighbour Wes Petterson, who lived with his adult grandson, was killed.
“He didn’t do anything. He didn’t deserve this. He was a good, kind-hearted man,” said Ruby Works.
“No one in this town is ever going to sleep again. They’re going to be terrified to open their door.”
HORROR RAMPAGE ACROSS MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
The murderous rampage left at least 10 people dead and another 18 injured in stabbings that took place across multiple locations in two remote Canadian indigenous communities on Sunday morning local time.
Some of the victims are thought to have been targeted, while others were attacked at random, police said. The killings mark one of the deadliest incidents of mass violence to ever hit the nation.
Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson fled in a black Nissan Rogue and several checkpoints were set up on highways and roads across the region, as “maximum” police resources were deployed for the search.
“We have located 10 deceased individuals in 13 locations in the community of James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Saskatchewan,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore told reporters on Sunday.
“Several additional victims have been injured, (18) of which at this point have been transported to various hospitals,” she said.
“We are actively looking for the two suspects … and investigating the many crime scenes.”
SUSPECT ‘TOLD WOMAN HE WAS HURT’
A Weldon grandmother, Doreen Lees, and her daughter believe they spotted one of the suspects when a car came speeding down her street on Sunday morning.
“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. He said his face was injured so bad he wouldn’t show it,” Ms Lees told Associated Press.
“I followed him a little ways to see if he was going to be OK. My daughter said ‘Don’t follow home, get back here’”.
Ms Lees said the man was alone and “kind of a little wobbly”.
In the town of Weldon, resident Diane Shier said her neighbour, a man who lived with his grandson, was killed.
Another Weldon resident, Robert Rush, described the victim as a gentle, widowed man in his 70s.
“He wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Mr. Rush said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has labelled the attacks “horrific and heartbreaking”.
“I’m thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured,” he tweeted.
“Thank you to all the brave first responders for their efforts on the ground.”
The attacks in Saskatchewan today are horrific and heartbreaking. I’m thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 4, 2022
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also described the attacks as “horrific”.
“I want to offer my deepest condolences ... to all of the family and friends of the victim’s of today’s horrific attacks,” he tweeted.
I want to offer my deepest condolences on behalf of the government and people of Saskatchewan to all of the family and friends of the victims of today’s horrific attacks.
— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) September 4, 2022
The James Smith Cree Nation, with a population of 2500, has been declared a local state of emergency, while many residents of Saskatchewan province were urged to shelter in place.
“It is horrific what has happened in our province today,” Assist Commissioner Blackmore said.
A dangerous person alert had been issued in Saskatchewan, as police responded to “multiple stabbings (in) multiple locations” in the Indigenous community and nearby town of Weldon.
People in the area have been urged not to leave a “secure location”, “use caution allowing others into your residence”, and to no “pick up hitch hikers”.
Eleanore Sunchild, a prominent Saskatchewan lawyer whose daughters have connections to the reserve, told APTN News she had been talking with community members who are shocked, horrified and deep in grief.
“I feel an immense grief for the community,” Ms Sunchild said.
Many victims were older people who held knowledge of history and tradition and Ms Sunchild said when an elder dies, “a library dies.”
- with AFP
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