Ten people were killed and several others injured on Sunday (September 4th) in stabbing attacks in two isolated communities in Canada, police said. The latter launched a manhunt in three provinces to find two suspects.
“We have located ten deceased people in thirteen locations in James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon communities in Saskatchewan” (central province of the country), said the deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Rhonda Blackmore, during a press conference from Regina, the capital of the province.
“Several other victims were injured, fifteen of whom have so far been transported to various hospitals”she added, adding that the police were looking for “two suspects” and investigated “many crime scenes”.
A Dangerous Person Alert was issued Sunday morning to residents across the province of Saskatchewan by police responding to “multiple knife attacks in multiple locations”in the James Smith Cree Nation Aboriginal community and nearby village of Weldon.
Research on a territory as large as half of Europe
Police received a first call at 5:40 a.m. local time reporting a stabbing attack at James Smith Cree Nation, followed by others, Rhonda Blackmore said. The authorities believe that “some of the victims were targeted by the suspects and others were randomly attacked”she clarified.
The suspects were first reported in Regina, the provincial capital located more than 300 kilometers to the south. Then the alert and search spread to the neighboring provinces of Manitoba and Alberta, a vast region half the size of Europe.
The Saskatchewan health authority told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that it has activated emergency protocols to deal with “a high number of critical patients”. “We can confirm that several people are being directed and supported across multiple sites and a call for additional staff to help respond to this situation has been made”she added.