"We may never understand why."
With the death of the Sanderson brothers, the two alleged attackers, mounted police officer Rhonda Blackmore believes the reason for one of the worst massacres in Canadian history may never be clarified.
For four days, the province of Saskatchewan, located in the center of the country and famous for its agricultural production (it is considered the Canadian breadbasket), has captured the attention of half the world for a massacre of 10 people perpetrated with a knife and a search without truce of the alleged perpetrators.
The researchers have analyzed 13 attack scenarios and have tried to put together the pieces of a puzzle that is difficult to fit together.
The epicenter of the pain has been James Smith, an indigenous reservation of some 2,000 inhabitants, most of whom are members of the Cree people, where 9 of the 10 fatalities were concentrated.
The reservation woke up last Sunday with an orgy of violence and blood.
At 5:40 a.m. local time, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) received the first call from the reserve.
A few minutes later, people from the same community reported other stabbings by telephone and identified the alleged perpetrators: Myles and Demian Sanderson (30 and 31 years old, respectively).
Myles already had a long criminal history, drug problems and a violent character.
Despite the accusations against him, he was on parole.
At 7:12, the federal body launched a first alert asking residents to take shelter.
At 7:57 he released the names and photos of the Sandersons.
Your partner's father
Investigators believe the attackers targeted some victims, but killed others somewhat at random.
Among the former may be the father of Myles' common-law partner: Earl Burns, 66, a bus driver whom Myles himself had already attacked with a knife in 2015 and who died Sunday from his injuries.
The police believe that Demian participated with his brother in the first attacks, but that his brother killed him when he tried to stop him.
His body was found Monday in a tall grassy area of the reservation with "injuries that did not appear to be self-inflicted," according to police.
The 10 stabbing victims, from left to right, top row: Bonnie Burns, Carol Burns, Christian Head, Lydia Gloria Burns, and Lana Head.
Bottom: Wesley Petterson, Thomas Burns, Gregory Burns, Robert Sanderson, and Earl Burns.
AP
Also the town of Weldon - about 20 kilometers from the reserve - was stained with blood with the tenth fatality.
In his flight, Myles Sanderson left behind 10 dead: six men and four women between the ages of 23 and 78.
The eldest of them all resided at Weldon;
the others lived on the reservation.
"He is not a victim, but a heroine," said Mark Arcand referring to his sister Bonnie Burns, 48, and with various volunteer tasks in the community.
She was stabbed while she was protecting her children.
Lana Head, a security guard at the Prince Albert casino, was also among the dead.
The same as Eddie Burns, a 66-year-old war veteran.
Following the attacks, the RCMP extended the alert to all of Saskatchewan at 8:20 a.m.;
three hours later it did the same in Alberta and Manitoba, the neighboring provinces.
That same afternoon, the police institution presented a first balance: 10 dead and 15 wounded.
The most recent figure indicates that 18 people were injured and the victims are 11 counting Damien.
RCMP officers, along with the support of Regina and Fort Albert police, relentlessly released the photos and physical characteristics of Damien and Myles Sanderson.
They also indicated that they had received information that the fugitives were traveling in a black Nissan Rogue and that they had been seen in an area of Regina, the provincial capital, some 320 kilometers south of the reservation.
The search was complex because the area of Saskatchewan is larger than that of Spain.
Considering the possibility of the Sandersons traveling to neighboring provinces, the area was equivalent to half of Europe.
on parole
In addition to roadblocks and searches in rural and urban areas, the authorities asked for the support of the population to obtain any information of interest, but asking them to protect themselves and avoid contact with strangers.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attacks "horrifying" and pledged full federal support for both the investigations and care for the victims.
The mounted police received criticism for the slowness with which they acted in the Portapique massacre, where in April 2020, an individual shot dead 22 people in that town in Nova Scotia.
Deputy Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore speaks alongside images of Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson during a Royal Canadian Mounted Police conference in Regina, Saskatchewan province, on Sept. 4, 2022.Michael Bell (AP)
Little by little, details about Myles Sanderson's long criminal past became known: 59 convictions for crimes such as armed robbery, robbery and assault, as well as drug and alcohol-related messes.
The RCMP had been looking for Sanderson since May for violating conditions stipulated in his parole.
Marco Mendicino, the federal justice minister, said there will be an investigation into how Sanderson was released.
On Tuesday, the RCMP said it was investigating the alleged sighting of Myles Sanderson on James Smith Reservation land.
Hours later, federal forces indicated that he was not at the scene.
On Wednesday morning, Sanderson's mother released a message on the CBC network: “Myles, please turn yourself in.
You can do it.
Do the right".
Death of the detainee
At 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, a new alert indicated that an individual with a knife was traveling in a white vehicle in an area belonging to Wakaw, a town located 90 kilometers northeast of Saskatoon.
Agents reported his arrest half an hour later in the Rosthern community.
The arrestee was Myles Sanderson.
Officer Blackmore told a news conference that Sanderson suffered "medical problems" after being detained and was pronounced dead at a Saskatoon hospital.
The city's police and the provincial Serious Incident Response team will investigate the circumstances of this death.
A memorial service for the victims was held on Thursday at the James Smith Reservation.
His boss, Wally Burns, stated: “There are no words that can express the feelings we are going through.
The families, the members of the community: there are many of us who are looking for help.”
In an emotional moment of the meeting, the brother of one of those killed and Damien Sanderson's partner hugged.
Burns and other indigenous leaders called on the provincial and federal governments to support the community in establishing a police force and funding anti-dependency centers and a transition system for indigenous offenders who have committed serious crimes.
Indian chiefs press conference on the James Smith reservation of the Cree people, where most of the stabbings took place.LARS HAGBERG (AFP)
The James Smith Reservation is immersed in pain and crying out for help, largely reflecting the calamities suffered by various Canadian indigenous communities.
In September of last year, a shooting there left two dead and one injured.
In 2016, an oil spill contaminated its main source of water (it is called “Saskatchewan”, after the province, which in the Cree language means “fast flowing river”).
In addition, several of its inhabitants lived in the old boarding schools for native children;
centers whose main objective was to forcibly assimilate the country's indigenous minors and where neglect, racism and physical and sexual aggression were a constant.
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