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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
The manhunt for one of two suspects in a stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan is now in its third day.
The second suspect was found dead Monday on a reserve in northern Saskatchewan.
As Dan Karpenchuk reports, 10 people were killed and 18 others wounded in the attacks on the reserve early Sunday morning.
An intense manhunt for the two suspects, Damien and Myles Sanderson, began early Sunday morning after reports began coming in, to police of multiple stabbings on the James Smith Cree nation, about 120 miles northeast of Saskatoon.
Arrest warrants were issued for the brothers, both in their thirties, and the alert was extended to the neighboring provinces of Alberta and Manitoba.
Police investigators were looking at no less than 13 separate crime scenes on the reserve, as well as the nearby town of Weldon.
By Monday afternoon, the body of one of the suspects, Damien Sanderson, was found on the reserve. Here’s Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
“His body was located outdoors in a heavily grassed area in proximity to a house that was being examined. We can confirm that he had visible injuries. These injuries are not believed to be self inflicted at this point.”
Blackmore says the other suspect Myles Sanderson is still the target of a manhunt. He faces three counts of first degree murder.
“Myles Sanderson may have sustained injuries. This has not been confirmed. But we do want the public to know this because there is a possibility he may seek medical attention. Even if he is injured it does not mean he is not still dangerous.”
Meanwhile condolences have been pouring into the James Smith Cree Nation from Native and political leaders across the country all describing the attacks as horrific and shocking. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also called it heartbreaking.
“My thoughts and the thoughts of all Canadians are with those who’ve lost loved ones and with those who are injured. This kind of violence or any kind of violence has no place in our country.”
Trudeau also said he told leaders at the reserve that federal resources will be there in this time of crisis.
The Canadian flag at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, as well as those at all federal buildings in Saskatchewan, have been lowered to half mast.
The James Smith Cree Nation has asked for privacy. Four of those injured remain in critical condition in hospital.
A federal district judge in South Dakota has declined to stop Lyman County’s November 2022 commission election, even though he found that it will violate the federal Voting Rights Act.
But to protect future elections, Chief Judge Roberto Lange has ordered the county not to alter its redistricting plan passed in late August until after the 2030 census.
Victoria Wicks has this report.
Judge Lange has issued a limited preliminary injunction for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in its battle for fair districting in Lyman County.
The tribe first approached the Lyman County Commission in October 2021 to break up the county’s single voting district that has historically resulted in the defeat of Native candidates, a system that violates the federal Voting Rights Act.
Almost 47% of the population of Lyman County is Native.
After almost a year of negotiations and court hearings, county commissioners approved an ordinance on August 22 that establishes a non-reservation district with three commission seats and a reservation district with two candidates to be elected in 2024.
An earlier proposal would have left the tribe waiting until 2026 for its second seat to be filled.
In his order issued September 2, Judge Lange said this latest ordinance is more palatable than the previous one, but it still leaves this November’s election in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Lower Brule leaders wanted the 2022 election to be canceled, with a special election held in early 2023. Judge Lange said that proposal was not workable.
Judge Lange suggested that the 2022 election could be legally held by electing three of those six candidates, using the two new commission districts the county approved in August.
However, Judge Lange said neither party approved of that solution and both sides have now said it’s too late to make changes for the upcoming election.
To ensure federal protection of Native voters in future elections, Judge Lange enjoined Lyman County from modifying its new ordinance until after the 2030 Census.
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