Suspect in Canadian Mass Killing Dies Shortly After Being Arrested

Hours after announcing the remaining suspect in a stabbing rampage that killed 10 people was arrested, Canadian police now say the man is dead.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Saskatchewan RCMP said they took Myles Sanderson into custody. He had been on the run for several days after the killing spree on Sunday across several remote communities left 10 dead and 18 injured.

But several hours later, the RCMP (Canada’s federal police force, which also does provincial policing) said Sanderson went into medical distress after his arrest, was taken to hospital, and died.

Sanderson and his brother Damien had been named as the sole suspects in the rampage across the rural communities of James Smith Cree Nation and the village of Weldon in Saskatchewan, Canada. Then early Monday morning, Damien’s body was found in a grassy patch near James Smith Cree Nation. Police say his wounds did not appear self-inflicted.

The stabbing spree is one of the worst mass killings in Canadian history.

Police say they took Myles Sanderson into custody near Rosthern, a small central Saskatchewan town of about 1,600 people about an hour outside of James Smith Cree Nation. Earlier in the day, a dangerous-individual alert was set out in the community of Melfort, Saskatchewan, also about an hour outside of Rosthern; it has now been canceled. 

The news of the suspect’s capture comes shortly after RCMP released the names of the victims. The deceased range from 23 years old to 78 and include a mother of five, a school bus driver who died trying to help save others, and multiple members of an extended family. 

Police haven’t given a motive. Officers believe some victims were targeted and others were attacked at random.

Anya Zoledziowski and Josh Visser contributed to this report.