RCMP say Myles Sanderson, suspect in Saskatchewan stabbing rampage, died in custody after ‘medical distress’
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask.-In a shocking conclusion to four days of terror on the Prairies, Myles Sanderson, the final suspect in a deadly stabbing rampage, is himself dead after being taken into custody, Saskatchewan RCMP confirmed Wednesday night.
Sanderson, the subject of a four-day hunt for his role in killings that left 11 dead, had been taken into police custody at roughly 3:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday on the side of a highway near Rosthern, Sask., roughly an hour southwest of where the crimes occurred. He died shortly thereafter, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said. Multiple media have reported that the wounds were self-inflicted.
Shortly after his arrest he went into medical distress," she told media late Wednesday. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
But while some media including Global News and the Guardian have reported that the injuries were self-inflicted, Blackmore gave no details on a possible cause of death. She said that the RCMP has asked the Saskatoon Police Service and the Saskatchewan Incident Response Team to conduct an independent external investigation into the incident.
She did, however, acknowledge that the loss of the final suspect may mean that some of the answers the community are looking for may have died with him: Now that Myles is deceased, we may not have an understanding of that motivation."
The capture was a moment of catharsis for a part of the province stained by grief and loss. In the community connected to James Smith Cree Nation in particular, few people have been untouched. In one of the first times he has spoken publicly since the violence that ripped through his community in the early hours Sunday, Chief Wally Burns, addressing a crowd in Prince Albert on Wednesday night, said there were no words" to adequately express the shock and hurt felt by his people.
Today is the start of another chapter in our life. A chapter where we have to celebrate lives that are gone, that were taken away ... since this whole thing started, honestly, we can have some rest, some closure," he said.
Cellphone video posted online appears to show a man dressed in dark clothing, pushed up against the side of white RCMP SUV flanked by multiple officers in vests, surrounded by farmland.
But half an hour after the arrest, Burns said he'd gotten a second call, that the man captured had died. Tomorrow we start the process of our grieving."
The horror began in the early hours Sunday morning, when reports began pouring into police of a violent spree that would eventually leave 11 people dead, mostly on the reserve plus a man killed in nearby Weldon.
In the RCMP's first address to media in two days, Blackmore described the manhunt an immense" undertaking that involved 160 RCMP and local employees working around the clock.
In the beginning, police sought both Myles Sanderson, 32, and his brother Damien Sanderson, 31. But when Damien's body was found in a grassy area, the search was winnowed to one.
For four days and three long nights many local residents lived in fear, as Sanderson's whereabouts were unknown and the authorities urged constant vigilance. We couldn't sleep at night, we were all on edge," said Sandra Burns, who lost a second cousin and close friend, and also had a coworker injured.
In an interview with CBC, even the Sanderson parents urged Myles to do the right thing."
Myles, please, please turn yourself in. We don't want no more hurt. I don't want nobody hurt anymore ... please, my son. I love you. Turn yourself in. Be safe," his father was quoted as saying.
A couple of times, reports that Sanderson had been spotted dangled hope, only to have it quashed.
For three long hours on Tuesday the residents of James Smith Cree were urged to shelter in place, or at least travel in groups and avoid anyone in a mask or hood, while officers searched their community with dogs.
Then on Wednesday, Saskatchewan RCMP again issued an emergency alert, after an individual was reportedly spotted in a stolen vehicle with a knife near the town of Wakaw, about an hour southwest of the site of Sunday's rampage.
At the local bar at the Wakaw Inn, bartender Brandy Beauregard said that as soon as staff had gotten the alert they locked the doors, and as they waited for answers, a handful of guests and patrons were waiting inside with a fresh round of drinks - mostly vodkas, she said.
There's lots of police in town and on the highway, they've got Highway 41 blocked off," she said. It's very scary actually."
On Wednesday, Blackmore said RCMP received reports that Sanderson had been standing outside a residence in Wakaw before fleeing in a stolen vehicle. He was located and directed" off the road, she said.
When he went into distress, emergency medical services responded and attempted to revive him but he was pronounced dead in hospital in Saskatoon.
But while his death brings closure to an intense police search, the reckoning with the violence that happened here is only just beginning.
Even before the RCMP started their press conference where they would reveal the suspect's death, sacred fires had begun to burn around the province.
In Prince Albert, a group of seven men placed tobacco on an eight-sided drum covered in cowhide, praying in Cree as strings of smoke rose skyward.
A large crowd had gathered at the city's city hall to pay respects to victims from the James Smith Cree Nation. Among them was Hubert Sanderson, who lost family in the tragedy. Hearing the suspect had been caught and had died brought him no closure.
He said he expects his healing journey to last a long time .
It hurts, it's tough," Sanderson said . It's just going to continue. It's long term ... Our community needs to backtrack a ourselves to the old ways, teach our kids to bring back our language and culture. And gathering is the most important."
With files from Kieran Leavitt
Alex Boyd is a Calgary-based reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @alex_n_boyd