New Delhi: A series of stabbing incidents in two communities in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan left 10 people dead and 15 injured on Sunday. The Police started looking out for the two suspects after stabbings took place in many locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon.
"Several additional victims have been injured, 15 of which at this point have been transported to various hospitals," said Rhonda Blackmore, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner, as quoted by news agency AP. "We are actively looking for the two suspects," she informed while addressing the conference.
Who are the two suspects?
The suspects have been identified as Damien and Myles Sanderson aged 30 and 31 years respectively. Both have black hair and brown eyes. The suspects escaped in a black Nissan Rogue, with several checkpoints being set up on highways and roads across the region and "maximum" police resources have been deployed for the search.
The search operations continued as fans descended in Regina for a sold-out annual Labor Day game between the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The James Smith Cree Nation has a population of 2,500. It has declared a local state of emergency, while people residing in Saskatchewan province were asked to shelter in place.
A dangerous person alert was also issued in the morning in Saskatchewan, as police reacted to the stabbings from multiple locations in the Indigenous community and the town of Weldon.
The police received a call about a stabbing at the James Smith First Nation that was followed by several calls reporting more stabbings. Authorities believe some of the victims were targeted by the suspects and others were attacked randomly, according to Blackmore.
It would be extremely difficult to determine the motive behind the killing at this point in time, she added.
Horrific And Heartbreaking: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a tweet termed the mass stabbing "horrific and heartbreaking." "The attacks in Saskatchewan today are horrific and heartbreaking," he wrote. "I'm thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured."
The Saskatchewan Health Authority had activated emergency protocols to deal with "a high number of critical patients," according to the AFP report.
Three helicopters were also dispatched from Saskatoon and Regina to the remote northern communities to transport stabbing victims and bring a doctor to the scene.
Other victims were shifted by ground ambulances to hospitals in nearby cities.
(With inputs from agencies)