An Indigenous leader has pleaded with people in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to come forward with information to help locate a suspect in a deadly stabbing spree who police say should be considered “armed and dangerous”.
In a statement late on Monday, Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), which represents 74 First Nations in the province, asked “all of the people of Saskatchewan to share any relevant information you may have”.
“We beg you to come forward for the sake of the families and communities,” Cameron said.
“The uncertainty continues to cause immeasurable stress and panic among our families, friends, and neighbours. They have already gone through enough. We must do everything we can to help end this tragedy without any more loss of life.”
Authorities in Saskatchewan, a province in the central Canadian prairies, continue to search for Myles Sanderson, 30, who is wanted in relation to Sunday’s attacks that left 10 people dead and injured 18 others.
The attacks took place in the Indigenous community of James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, about 320km (200 miles) north of the provincial capital, Regina.
The second suspect in the stabbings, Myles Sanderson’s brother, 31-year-old Damien Sanderson, was found dead on Monday in James Smith Cree Nation.
Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officials told reporters on Monday evening that his body was found “outdoors in a heavily grassed area” and had signs of injuries “not believed to be self-inflicted”.
Police said Myles Sanderson is believed to have been injured and could seek medical attention.
Meanwhile, Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray said late on Monday that authorities believe Myles Sanderson is still in the city.
“Myles is still at large and still considered to be armed and dangerous,” Bray said in a video posted on social media, urging members of the public to report any information “that could bring a swift resolution to this situation”.
Myles Sanderson faces three counts of first-degree murder, as well as charges of attempted murder and breaking and entering.
Authorities have not released a motive for Sunday’s attacks, one of the worst incidents of mass violence in Canada’s history and one that has spurred an outpouring of grief across the country, especially in Indigenous communities.
Some community members and Indigenous leaders have said the violence is the result of drug abuse.
“This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities, and we demand all authorities to take direction from the Chiefs and Councils and their membership to create safer and healthier communities for our people,” Cameron of FSIN said on Sunday.
That was echoed by Ivor Wayne Burns, a resident of James Smith Cree Nation, who told the Reuters news agency that his sister Gloria Lydia Burns was killed when she answered an emergency call.
“This tragedy that happened here on our land, it’s all because of drugs and alcohol,” Burns said. “The drug problem we have here is rampant. It’s gone out of control.”
Canadian media outlets have reported that Myles Sanderson had a two-decade-long criminal record, and many of his crimes were carried out when he was intoxicated.
In May, he was listed as “unlawfully at large” after he stopped meeting with his parole officer following a statutory release from prison, CBC News said.
Citing a Parole Board of Canada document, The Canadian Press news agency also reported that Myles Sanderson had a violence-filled childhood, which led to a “cycle of substance abuse, seeking out negative peers and violent behaviour”.
“You can be easily angered when drunk, but are a different person when sober,” the parole board’s decision said.
James Smith Cree Nation, a small community home to approximately 1,900 people who live on the reserve, has asked for privacy and declared a state of emergency following the attacks.
“I lost alot [sic] of family yesterday, bodies every where [sic] … It was a war zone,” Michael Brett Burns, whose former partner, mother of two Lana Head, was among those killed in the community, wrote in a Facebook post.
“My family, my friends prayers for all whom were affected by this horrible crime. God bless the ones who left us and protect our homes.”