Key Points
- Canadian police have launched a manhunt across three provinces for two suspects
- The attacks happened at multiple locations and there are at least 13 crime scenes
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a mass stabbing that left at least 10 people dead and 15 injured in Saskatchewan province on Sunday "horrific and heartbreaking."
"The attacks in Saskatchewan today are horrific and heartbreaking," he tweeted. "I'm thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured."
Officials on Sunday local time named Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson as the suspects. They were last seen travelling in a black Nissan Rogue and last spotted in the city of Regina, about 320 kilometres south of the attacks.
Police released photos and descriptions of the suspects but no further information.
"It appears that some of the victims may have been targeted, and some may be random. So to speak to a motive would be extremely difficult at this point in time," Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told a news conference.
“Their location and direction of travel is unknown,” Ms Blackmore said.
“It is horrific what has occurred in our province today.”
The stabbings were reported early in the morning, and at 8.20am local time police issued a province-wide dangerous persons alert. By the afternoon, similar alerts were also issued in Saskatchewan's neighbouring provinces Alberta and Manitoba.
Ms Blackmore said police were still in the initial stages of the investigation, and trying to determine the relationship between the two suspects and whether they were known to police.
"There are no words to adequately describe the pain and loss caused by this senseless violence. All of Saskatchewan grieves with the victims and their families," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said on Twitter.
The attacks happened at multiple locations, including James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon in Saskatchewan, and there were 13 crime scenes that police were investigating, the RCMP in Saskatchewan said.
Police said that some of the victims appeared to have been targeted by the suspects while others were attacked randomly.
There may be additional injured victims who transported themselves to various hospitals, police told reporters at a news conference.
A spokesperson for the Saskatchewan Health Authority in a statement said that the department had called for additional staff to help respond to the situation.
