At least 10 people die in knife attacks in rural central Canada. Many more are injured. The alleged perpetrators are on the run.
Regina – Cruel incident in Canada: At least ten people have been killed in a series of knife attacks in the center of the country. 15 injured were also taken to hospitals for treatment. This was announced by the police in the province of Saskatchewan at a press conference on Sunday (local time) in the provincial capital Regina. No further details were given about the condition of the victims. The two alleged perpetrators are on the run. The two men were last seen in an SUV, it said. The motive for the cruel act was initially unclear in the evening.
Knife attacks in Canada: motive for the cruel act still unclear
“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 at this point in time to name a motive.” There are 13 active crime scenes that are being investigated. “So at some of these crime scenes there might not have been a deceased person, but instead there were injured people who weren’t deceased,” Blackmore continued. Other victims could not be ruled out. Because it is currently unclear whether all those affected have reported to the authorities.
The victims were attacked in two places in Saskatchewan – in the James Smith Cree Nation reservation designated for indigenous people and in the village of Weldon, Blackmore explained. In the morning at 5.40 a.m. the first emergency call was received by the officials, in the following minutes further attacks from crime scenes in the vicinity were reported.
Shortly after 7 a.m., the police issued an initial warning to the population. The two suspects are said to have been seen four hours later in the provincial capital of Regina, almost 300 kilometers further south. The reserve leaders declared a state of emergency.
Bloody deed in Canada: Prime Minister Trudeau shocked – “Terrible and heartbreaking”
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was shocked by the fact. “Today’s attacks in Saskatchewan are horrifying and heartbreaking. My thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones and those who have been hurt,” Trudeau wrote on Twitter. “We are closely monitoring the situation and ask everyone to follow the latest information from the local authorities. I would like to thank all the brave first responders for their commitment on site.”
On behalf of his government, the Prime Minister offered his condolences. “All of Saskatchewan mourns with the victims and their families,” wrote Scott Moe of the Saskatchewan Conservative Party on Twitter. Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said 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 evidence that they 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. (kof/dpa)
