Canadian police say 10 killed, 15 injured in stabbings

Agencies | Ottawa                                                                          

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Canadian police on Sunday said 10 people were killed and at least 15 others injured in stabbings in the Saskatchewan province.

“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 a news conference.

“Several additional victims have been injured, 15 of which at this point have been transported to various hospitals,” she added.

Police were on the hunt for two suspects, with alerts and warnings extended to Alberta and Manitoba, following reports of multiple stabbings three hours north of the provincial capital. Police named Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson as the two suspects and said they were travelling in a black, Nissan Rogue.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the attacks took place in several locations, including James Smith Cree Nation and the village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, early on Sunday.

Early indications suggested victims may have been attacked at random.

The search for suspects was waged as fans descended in Regina for a sold out annual Labor Day game between the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Regina Police Service, in a news release, said that with the help of Mounties, it was investigating on several fronts to locate and arrest the suspects and had “deployed additional resources for public safety throughout the city, including the football game at Mosaic Stadium”.

The alert first issued by Melfort, Saskatchewan RCMP about 7am was extended hours later to cover Manitoba and Alberta, as the two suspects remained at large.

Damien Sanderson was described as five feet seven inches tall and 155 pounds, and Myles Sanderson as six-foot-one and 200 pounds. Both have black hair and brown eyes and may be driving a black Nissan Rogue.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority said multiple patients were being treated at several sites.

“A call for additional staff was issued to respond to the influx of casualties,” authority spokeswoman Anne Linemann said in an email.

Mark Oddan, a spokesman with STARS Air Ambulance, said two helicopters were dispatched from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and another from Regina.

Oddan said two carried patients from the scene to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, while the third carried a patient to Royal University from a hospital in Melfort, a short distance southeast of Weldon.

Oddan said due to privacy laws, he could not disclose information about their ages, genders or conditions.