There are knife attacks at 13 crime scenes in the Canadian province. 15 people are injured. A town declares a state of emergency.
Regina/James Smith Cree Nation/Weldon – At least 10 people have been killed in knife attacks in rural Canada – more than a dozen others have been injured. On Sunday, police in the province of Saskatchewan were looking for two suspects, a police representative said. The background to the bloody deeds in the indigenous community James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby town of Weldon were initially completely unclear.
According to the preliminary findings of the police, the knife attacks were carried out at 13 different crime scenes. 15 injured were taken to hospitals, three rescue helicopters were deployed. Authorities believed that some of the victims were targeted, while others were accidental victims. So far, it has been “extremely difficult” to name a motive for the crime, said Deputy Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Canadian community declared a state of emergency – residents fled to safety
According to their information, several alarm reports about the knife attacks were received by the police on Sunday morning (local time). The two suspects, aged 30 and 31, fled in a car. They were spotted more than 300 kilometers south of the crime scenes in the provincial capital of Regina. The police then expanded their manhunt beyond Saskatchewan to the neighboring provinces of Manitoba and Alberta. The three provinces together have an area that is almost half the size of Europe.
The 2,500-strong community of James Smith Cree Nation declared a state of emergency. Many Saskatchewan residents have been urged to get to safety. The authorities set up several checkpoints on motorways and roads, and “maximum police resources” were mobilized for the search.
Canada: PM Trudeau speaks out after knife attacks
Diane Shier, a Weldon resident, told the Canadian Press that her neighbor who lived with his grandson was killed in the attacks. “I’m devastated to have lost a very good neighbor,” Shier said. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the killings as “appalling and heartbreaking”. In a message on Twitter, he expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed shock at the knife attacks in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. “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 on Sunday evening (local time). (tk with afp)
