In Canada's bucolic prairie region, a mass stabbing shocks the country

An investigator comforts Ruby Works, whose friend was one of the victims of a mass stabbing in Weldon, Saskatchewan on September 5, 2022. Photo / Amber Bracken, The New York Times

The horror began at 5.40am on Sunday, when police received a report of a stabbing on a rural Indigenous reserve in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan. By the time the rampage was over, hours later, police said that 10 people were dead and 18 wounded — some apparently chosen at random — in a killing spree that has shaken the country.

One of the two suspects in the mass killings, Damien Sanderson, was found dead on Monday (Tuesday NZT) in a grassy area near a house being investigated as part of the attacks on the Cree Nation reserve, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. They said his injuries did not appear to be self-inflicted.

Police said a search was still underway for his brother Myles Sanderson, who may also have been injured and may seek medical attention. They said that Myles Sanderson had a lengthy criminal record, and that the public should be vigilant.

Police said they were investigating how Damien Sanderson had died, including whether his brother had killed him.

While details about the men and their motive remained murky, a Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers notice showed that Myles Sanderson had been wanted by police before Sunday's attacks.

Police investigate a Weldon house where neighbours say one man was stabbed to death. Photo / Amber Bracken, The New York Times

In a country that prides itself on its civility, the knife attacks at the James Smith Cree Nation and a nearby village called Weldon were one of the worst mass killings in recent memory, and they reverberated across Canada.

In Weldon, a sleepy farming village near the 27-square-mile (70-square-kilometre) Cree Nation reservation, some residents said they had hidden in their homes after learning of the attack and had locked their doors on Sunday night for the first time ever.

Canada's bucolic prairie region is known for its rolling landscapes and farming industry. But on Monday, residents of Saskatchewan, with 1.2 million people, woke up to find their province under a global spotlight because of the mass murder. And with both suspects still on the loose then, the province was on edge.

"I was terrified to go to sleep last night," said Ruby Works, a resident of Weldon, who said a close friend, an older man who was a bird lover, had been killed in the attack. Works, 42, said she was out looking for her cat on Sunday when a police officer warned her to go inside.

In Weldon, a community of 160 people that is dominated by two towering grain elevators, residents said anxiety, grief and fear had spread following the attack. About half of the population in the town is older than 60.

Residents said the town, peppered with dirt roads and bungalows, was the kind of place where everyone knows one another.

Forensic officers in Weldon on September 5, 2022. Photo / Amber Bracken, The New York Times

"Last night, I locked my doors for the first time, but it was only because my 12-year-old asked me to," said a resident, April Audette.

The attack had particular resonance in Indigenous communities in a country that has been grappling with violence and systemic discrimination against Indigenous people.

The issue has received heightened attention and has become a source of national reckoning in recent years, in part because of grim new discoveries like the one last year of graves of children at a former residential school in British Columbia. For decades Indigenous children were forced to attend the church-run schools, where they were the victims of horrific physical and sexual abuse. Many died at the schools.

Across the country, as most Canadians took Monday off for Labor Day, news broadcasts were dominated by headlines about the killings. "Saskatchewan Mass Murder," said a red banner on the television news report from the CBC, the national broadcaster. Many were asking: how could this happen here — and why?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, in a brief address on Monday afternoon, said he was "shocked and devastated by the horrific attacks". He said the flag on Ottawa's Peace Tower and at all federal buildings in Saskatchewan were at half-staff.

"Sadly, over these past years, tragedies like these have become all too commonplace," Trudeau said. "Saskatchewanians and Canadians will do what we always do in times of difficulty and anguish. We'll be there for each other, be there for our neighbours, lean on each other, help grieve and help heal."

Police secure the scene where neighbours say a man was stabbed to death in Weldon, Saskatchewan. Photo / Amber Bracken, The New York Times

Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan called on authorities to "create safer and healthier communities for our people".

"Our hearts break for all those impacted," he said.

As dozens of police officers patrolled communities and combed 13 crime scenes for evidence, Canadian authorities advised residents in the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon to shelter at home. They expanded the search almost 200 miles south to Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan province, where thousands had gathered on Sunday for a Labor Day football game.

Before announcing that Damien Sanderson was dead, police had warned that the attackers were likely to be hiding in Regina.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also said in a statement that the two men had been charged with first-degree attempted murder and breaking and entering.

In total, 28 people were stabbed. Some of the victims were taken by helicopter to Royal University Hospital, the province's main trauma centre, in Saskatoon.

The Indigenous community in Saskatchewan has proud and deep roots in the area, stretching back thousands of years. The area was historically an important region to hunt bison, according to a city of Regina website. The James Smith Cree Nation has 3412 members, with nearly 2000 living on its reserve, according to its website; there are a total of about 175,000 Indigenous residents in the province.

Flowers on the lawn near a house where neighbours say a man was stabbed to death in Weldon, Saskatchewan on September 5, 2022. Photo / Amber Bracken, The New York Times

In Weldon, residents commiserated with one another as two officers in white forensic suits went through the home of the older victim whom Works said she knew. Residents said he was a well-known face in the small community who had campaigned to prevent trees in the area from being cut down.

"This man did not deserve to die like this," said Works, recalling how she would help him with his shopping and lift heavy bags of kitty litter from his car. "He was a kindhearted man. He would take the shirt off his back and give it to you."

With helicopters flying overhead and police searching through the town, Works' aunt, Sharon Works, 64, said she and her son had been fielding calls from friends and neighbours who knew some of the victims.

In Regina, some residents ignored the warnings to shelter and stuck to their social plans.

Along Arcola Avenue, a broad, largely fenced-off road that police say the two men were likely to have travelled, crowds turned out for an annual Labor Day classic car show, a fundraising event for a local food bank.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Written by: Ian Austen and Dan Bilefsky
Photographs by: Amber Bracken
© 2022 THE NEW YORK TIMES