By Canadian Press

Chief to speak after mass stabbing suspect dies following four-day manhunt

Sep 8, 2022 | 2:04 AM

JAMES SMITH CREE NATION — The chief of a Saskatchewan First Nation is set to speak the day after the suspect in a deadly stabbing rampage died in police custody following a four-day manhunt.

Myles Sanderson went into medical distress shortly after being arrested Wednesday.

Sanderson was wanted on charges, including first-degree murder, after attacks that left 10 people dead and 18 injured on Sunday.

Most of the victims were from the James Smith Cree Nation and the community has been on edge and in grief since the fatal stabbings.

Chief Wally Burns is scheduled to speak alongside other First Nations leaders in the community this morning.

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They are also to be joined by RCMP and Crown and Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, Indigenous Services Minister Patti Haju and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

The First Nation gathered for the first wake since the attacks on Wednesday evening as community members prepare for more in the coming days.

The large gathering came only a few hours after RCMP announced Sanderson had been taken into custody near Rosthern following a police pursuit of a stolen vehicle.

The vehicle ended up in the ditch, driven into nearby foliage on the side of the highway.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said shortly after the arrest Sanderson went into medical distress.

She said officers performed life-saving measures and he was transported by ambulance to a Saskatoon hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Blackmore said it means there may never be an answer to what lead to the killings.

The only other suspect, Sanderson’s brother Damien, was found dead near one of the crime scenes on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2022.

The Canadian Press