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In 13 locations of Saskatchewan
Ten dead in knife attacks in Canada
09/05/2022, 00:21
Ten people have been killed and others injured in knife attacks in remote communities in Canada. According to police, the attacks occurred in 13 different locations in the province of Saskatchewan. Two suspects are on the run.
At least ten people have been killed in a series of knife attacks in Canada. Two suspects are on the run, said the police in the province of Saskatchewan at a press conference.
More people were injured in the attacks on Sunday, and 15 were taken to hospitals for treatment. Canadian police said they were looking for two suspects. They were last seen driving a black Nissan Rogue. Canadian media write that the men are “armed and dangerous”.
The police were initially unable to provide any information on a motive. “It appears that some of the victims were targeted and some were chosen at random,” said police officer Rhonda Blackmore. “It would therefore be extremely difficult to name a motive at this point.”
Blackmore said the victims were attacked in two places in Saskatchewan — the James Smith Cree Nation reservation and the village of Weldon. The first emergency call was received at 5.40 a.m. (local time) in the morning, and further attacks from nearby crime scenes were reported in the minutes that followed. Shortly after 7 a.m., the police issued an initial warning to the population. Four hours later, the two suspects are said to have been seen in the provincial capital Regina, almost 300 kilometers further south. The reserve’s elected leaders declared a state of emergency.
“All of Saskatchewan Mourns”
The provincial prime minister tweeted his condolences on behalf of his government. “All of Saskatchewan mourns with the victims and their families,” wrote Scott Moe of the Saskatchewan Conservative Party. Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Twitter that Saskatchewan police are using all available resources to find the two suspects and will keep the public informed of further developments.
Police were looking for the two male suspects, aged 31 and 30, in Saskatchewan and the neighboring provinces of Manitoba and Alberta. The area of these three provinces in central Canada is more than five times the area of Germany. Saskatchewan alone is almost twice the size of Germany, but very sparsely populated with just under 1.2 million inhabitants.
“At this time we have no indication that they have traveled to any other province,” Blackmore said. Particular attention is paid to the provincial capital Regina with around 230,000 inhabitants. There, people were asked to stay in a safe place and not pick up hitchhikers. Additional forces were also ordered to a game in a football stadium, it said.