Missing suspect in deadly Canadian stabbing spree dies, authorities say

The missing suspect in Canada's stabbing massacre is dead following his capture, authorities said. 

An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Myles Sanderson, 32, died from self-inflicted injuries Wednesday after police forced the stolen car he was driving off a highway in Saskatchewan. Other officials declined to discuss how he died, but expressed relief the final suspected killer was no longer on the loose.

“This evening our province is breathing a collective sigh of relief,” Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Saskatchewan, said at a news conference Wednesday night.

Canadian authorities had been intensely searching for Sanderson, who has a history of violence and is accused along with his brother of killing 10 people and wounding 18 on Sunday in an Indigenous reserve in Saskatchewan.

The body of younger brother Damien Sanderson, 30, was found Monday in a grassy area near one of the sites where the stabbing rampage occurred. Police are investigating whether his brother killed him.

An independent investigation by members of Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team went to the arrest site and will review Sanderson's death and police conduct.

The federal public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, also stressed that the events will be investigated.

“You have questions. We have questions," he told reporters during a Cabinet retreat in Vancouver, British Columbia, adding: “There will be two levels of police who will be investigating the circumstances of Myles Sanderson's death.”

The hunt for Sanderson had entered its fourth day Wednesday as residents mourned their loved ones and a spotlight shined on the alleged killer's violent past.

The older Sanderson had 59 criminal convictions and had been serving a sentence of more than four years when he was freed in February. The parole board wrote that "it is the board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released on statutory release.''

He had been sought since May after failing to meet with his parole officer. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino called for an independent review of the parole board assessment that led to Sanderson's release.

“I want to know the reasons behind the decision, and I want to know if any mistakes were made,” Mendicino said. ”I’m extremely concerned with what occurred here."

Six victims were from the same family

The Saskatchewan Coroner’s Service on Wednesday released the identities of the 10 people killed in the attacks. All but one were from the James Smith Cree Nation reserve, including six from the same extended family.

The relatives were Earl Burns, 66; Lydia Gloria Burns, 61; Bonnie Burns, 48; Carol Burns, 46; Gregory Burns, 28; and Thomas Burns, 23. The other deceased victims from the reserve were Christian Head, 54; Lana Head, 49; and Robert Sanderson, 49. The other person killed was Wesley Patterson, 78, from Weldon.

Earl Burns and his wife, Joyce, had survived a 2015 knife attack from their son-in-law Myles Sanderson, who repeatedly stabbed Earl Burns and later pleaded guilty to assault and threatening his life, court records show. Sanderson is Indigenous and grew up in the Cree reserve, population 1,900.

Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand said his half sister, Bonnie Burns, was killed coming to the aid of her son, Gregory Burns.

"She was stabbed two times, and she died right beside him,” Arcand said. “Right outside of her home she was killed by senseless acts. She was protecting her son. She was protecting three little boys. This is why she is a hero.”

Who is Myles Sanderson?

Parole documents says Sanderson's childhood was marked by violence, neglect and a “cycle of substance abuse, seeking out negative peers and violent behavior.” He lived between his father’s home in a city and grandparents’ house on a reserve and started drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana at around age 12. He told parole officials substance use made him out of his mind.

Such issues are not uncommon on the reserve, some residents say.

“The drug problem and the alcohol problem on these reserves is way out of hand,” said Ivor Wayne Burns, whose sister was among the attack victims. “We asked before for something to be done.”

Said Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations: “This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities."

Authorities searched home on reserve

Hours after Sunday's attacks at 13 locations in and around the James Smith Cree Nation reserve in Saskatchewan, the manhunt began for the Sanderson brothers.

After finding Damien Sanderson's body Monday, police said his wounds did not appear to be self-inflicted but provided few other details. The New York Times reported that he was stabbed to death.

The brothers' ages have been updated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which originally listed Myles Sanderson as 30 and Damien as 31.

Police on Tuesday issued an alert notifying residents of the Indigenous reserve to shelter in place. Officers with guns drawn surrounded a house, but a short time later the RCMP said it was a false alarm and they no longer believed Myles Sanderson was hiding out on the community.

POLICE SURROUND HOME BUT SUSPECT NOT FOUND:Suspect in Canada stabbing spree still at large

Sunday's attack left 10 dead, 18 wounded

The carnage took place early Sunday. Authorities received the first emergency call at about 5:40 a.m. Within a couple hours the toll had reached 10 dead and 18 wounded on the reserve and in the nearby town of Weldon. 

Later that day, Myles Sanderson was seen in the provincial capital of Regina, 200 miles south of Weldon and about 100 miles from the Montana border, Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said.

On Tuesday, the search was expanded to the entire province of Saskatchewan, nearly the size of Texas.

Contributing: The Associated Press