Suspect in Canadian stabbing spree eludes capture for 3rd day as police declare recent sighting a false alarm
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- A suspect in the mass stabbing spree in Canada remains at large as police search for a fourth day.
- He was thought to have been sighted near an Indigenous reservation on Tuesday afternoon.
- However, police said that the sighting was a false alarm after sweeping the area.
Canada's hunt for the remaining suspect following a deadly stabbing spree entered its fourth day on Wednesday after police declared that a recent sighting of the man was a false alarm.
The whereabouts of Myles Sanderson, 30, remained unknown as of Wednesday morning. He is believed to be in Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, around 185 miles south of where residents said they spotted him.
Saskatchewan residents were ordered to shelter in place on Tuesday afternoon after several people of the Indigenous James Smith Cree Nation reported that they spotted Sanderson on their reservation.
Officers were said to have surrounded a house with guns drawn and sealed off the area, The Guardian reported.
However, authorities released an alert two hours later saying the sighting was a false alarm, the outlet wrote.
Sanderson and his brother, Damien Sanderson, 31, have been the targets of a widespread police manhunt following an attack on Sunday that left 10 people dead and 18 injured in and around the James Smith Cree Nation's reservation.
Damien Sanderson was found dead on Monday, and his wounds did not appear to be self-inflicted, Regina Police Chief Evan Bray told The Associated Press.
Myles Sanderson is believed to be injured, and a police spokesperson warned that he might seek medical attention.
"Even if he is injured, it does not mean he is not still dangerous," said Rhonda Blackmore, the commanding officer of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police, per CNN.
The James Smith Cree Nation declared a state of emergency on Sunday and set up two emergency operation centers to provide health support to community members.
The RCMP believes that some victims were targeted at random while others were planned but has offered no possible motive for the attacks.
Sanderson has a two-decade history of violence that stretches back to his youth, according to a document by the Parole Board of Canada, The Washington Post reported.
Per the document, he had 59 convictions as an adult for crimes, including assault and robbery. Since May, he's been considered "unlawfully at large" after he stopped reporting to his parole officer.
The board said the Sandersons grew up in an environment filled with domestic violence and abuse and that Myles Sanderson started using drugs and alcohol as a boy, per The Post.
The brothers belonged to Indigenous communities, which may have contributed to Myles Sanderson's involvement in the criminal justice system due to the "intergenerational impacts" of disadvantages suffered by First Nations members, the board said, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the attacks as "horrific and heartbreaking" and said authorities were "closely monitoring the situation."
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the mass stabbing "senseless" and "devastating."
"We stand with Canada, our ally and neighbor and all those affected by this tragedy and condemn this senseless violence," she said on Tuesday.