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Search for clues in Weldon: Who are the perpetrators?
Photo: DAVID STOBBE / REUTERS
Several people died in knife attacks in Canada.
Two suspects are on the run.
Justin Trudeau is shocked.
What is known so far:
What happened?
Several knife attacks occurred in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on Sunday morning (local time).
At least ten people were killed and 15 injured were taken to hospitals on the James Smith Cree Nation reservation, which has been designated for indigenous people, and in the nearby town of Weldon.
It is possible that there are more injured, but they drove to the latches themselves.
The police are currently assuming a total of 13 crime scenes.
"It appears that some of the victims were targeted, others randomly," said Rhonda Blackmore, chief of the Canadian Police Department (RCMP) in Saskatchewan.
Who is responsible for the crime?
Police have identified two suspects who are said to have fled in a black car after the knife attacks.
They are Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, 30.
They are said to have been last sighted in the town of Regina, about 320 kilometers south of the crime scenes.
Investigators warned that the two were "armed and dangerous" and ordered them to surrender.
It is unclear whether the two men are related.
Residents should stay safe, don't let strangers into the house and don't pick up hitchhikers.
What is the motive?
"It's extremely difficult to pinpoint a motive at this point," said Police Commissioner Blackmore.
This is probably also due to the fact that the perpetrators are said to have selected their victims at random.
However, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Peoples (FSIN) issued a statement suggesting drugs may be involved.
"This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs enter our communities," Chief Bobby Cameron said.
Who are the victims?
So far there is little information on the identity of the individual victims.
Since the attacks took place in the "James Smith Cree Nation" reservation, the indigenous people are probably the most affected.
Calvin Sanderson, chief of the Chakastaypasin people on the reservation, said everyone was shocked by the events.
"They were our relatives and friends," said Sanderson, who is not related to the suspects, of the victims. "It's pretty horrifying."
The "James Smith Cree Nation" is an indigenous community with about 3400 members in southern Canada who mainly live from agriculture, hunting and fishing.
Weldon is a village with about 200 inhabitants.
How are the reactions?
The people on the reservation and in the village of Weldon are shocked.
'No one in this town will ever sleep again.
They'll be afraid to open their door," Weldon's Ruby Works, who is said to have been close to one of the victims, told the AP.
The indigenous group FSIN expressed its condolences to those affected: "As a nation, we mourn together with the people of the James Smith Cree Nation and pray that the injured will recover as quickly as possible." Saskatchewan Prime Minister Scott Moe said There are "no words to adequately describe the pain and loss of this senseless violence."
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his dismay.
“Today's attacks in Saskatchewan are horrifying and heartbreaking.
My thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones and with those who have been injured,” Trudeau tweeted: “We are closely monitoring the situation and ask everyone to follow the updated information from local authorities.
I would like to thank all the brave first responders for their commitment on site.«
Have there been similar cases in Canada?
The Saskatchewan knife attacks are among the deadliest attacks in Canada's history.
The country has repeatedly been shaken by serious acts of violence in recent years.
In 2020, a man dressed as a police officer shot and killed 22 people in various locations in the province of Nova Scotia.
In Toronto in 2018, a man drove a minibus, killing ten people and injuring 16 others.
One of the injured died three years later from her injuries.
Such deadly attacks are rarer in Canada than in neighboring United States.
ptz/AP/AFP/Reuters