One body and many questions. One of the two brothers wanted after Sunday’s attacks in Canada has been found dead, police said on Monday, who are still tracking the second suspect in this killing, one of the deadliest in recent years in the country and whose motive remains unexplained.
According to the latest report, 10 people died by stabbing and 18 others were injured, some seriously, in two isolated towns in the mid-west of the country in the province of Saskatchewan.
Possibly killed by his brother
The body of Damien Sanderson, 31, who bore several ‘visible injuries’, was discovered in the Indigenous community where the killings took place, ‘in a grassy area near a house’ being inspected , explained the assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Rhonda Blackmore.
The other suspect, her brother Myles Sanderson is still at large and may have been injured, she added during a press conference at the end of the day. He might be in “need of care”. “We cannot say for sure how Damian died, but he may have been killed by his brother,” she added.
Since Sunday, hundreds of police have been tracking suspects across a huge area of the prairie region. “We always advise people to be vigilant, Myles Sanderson is considered dangerous. His actions showed that he is violent,” the police further explained.
Myles Sanderson is, according to the Saskatoon police, already wanted since last May for not respecting his judicial control. He had been sentenced to nearly five years in prison, notably for theft.
Flags at half mast
The killings targeted an Indigenous community in James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby town of Weldon in Saskatchewan, a large, sparsely populated rural province in the mid-west of the country. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lamented on Monday that these types of deadly attacks have “become too common”.
The majority of the victims are indigenous. In Canada, they represent about 5% of the 38 million inhabitants, and live in communities often ravaged by unemployment and poverty.
According to the police, some victims were targeted by the suspects and others were attacked randomly. Among the first victims identified by Canadian media are a 77-year-old retiree, a female volunteer firefighter and her 14-year-old nephew.