Mass stabbing in Canada: Myles Sanderson was the only killer and his brother was a victim, police say

CNN
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Investigators now believe Myles Sanderson was the lone killer in a mass stabbing attack in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in September – and his brother, originally named as a suspect, was among those he killed, police said on Thursday .

That means 11 people have been killed – not 10 as previously reported – in attacks on or near the James Smith Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan, an Indigenous community, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Thursday. Canada.

And it’s a major reversal in authorities’ opinion of Sanderson’s brother, Damien Sanderson, who investigators say was initially a suspect with Myles Sanderson as police responded to the September 4 stabbings.

The murders captivated Canada for days as authorities searched for the couple. During the manhunt, 31-year-old Damien Sanderson was found dead Sept. 5 near a home on the James Smith Cree Nation reserve. Myles Sanderson, 30, was arrested Sept. 7 after a vehicle chase in Saskatchewan and died later that day after experiencing “medical distress,” police said.

While authorities are still investigating the events leading up to the stabbings, they “believe it is important to clarify Damien’s involvement,” RCMP said Thursday.

“After conducting 250 interviews, processing more than 670 exhibits, reviewing and following up on more than 100…calls for service, investigators have determined…Damien Sanderson was the victim of a homicide by Myles Sanderson,” a statement read. RCMP press release.

“Myles Sanderson committed all of the homicides alone,” the statement said.

Police did not say how or when Damien Sanderson died. On the day his body was found, police said he had injuries that did not appear to be self-inflicted.

Although investigators no longer believe Damien Sanderson killed anyone, they have determined that “Damien was involved in the initial planning and preparations for the attacks.”

“We are still investigating the extent of Damien’s involvement,” the RCMP statement said.

Investigators are trying to get “an accurate picture of the motives behind these crimes and why some of the victims were targeted,” RCMP said Thursday.

“It will take time and the reality is that we may never really know why,” the RCMP said.

In addition to the 11 killed, 18 others were injured in a series of stabbings that covered numerous crime scenes on September 4 in the indigenous community and a nearby rural village, authorities said.

In the hours after the attacks, police said the two brothers were suspects and investigators believed they were traveling together in a vehicle.

On September 7 – the day Myles Sanderson was captured and died, and two days after Damien Sanderson was found dead – a reporter asked RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore if Myles Sanderson was the one who carried out the murders.

“Our testimonies that we received indicated that Myles Sanderson was the person responsible,” although she noted that investigators were still trying to confirm exactly who was involved.

In Thursday’s statement, although the RCMP said they still don’t fully understand the motive, they said the two brothers “were involved in at least three violent altercations involving other people from the Cree Nation of James Smith” before the murders.

“None of these violent altercations were reported to the police before the homicides were committed” on September 4, RCMP said.

Among the 18 injured was a young teenager, authorities said, although they would not release the names of the surviving victims.