REGINA - Saskatchewan RCMP have provided further details Thursday on the stabbing rampage that transpired at James Smith Cree Nation and at Weldon.
The RCMP F Division Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, provided some new details on what had happened in the days leading up to the mass casualty incident on Sept. 4 in her update at headquarters in Regina.
Here are some of the details revealed:
Blackmore said that based on their findings, it was determined that Myles Sanderson had killed his brother, Damien Sanderson, and that all of the homicides at James Smith and at Weldon were committed by Myles Sanderson alone.
A total of 11 victims were killed by Myles on Sept. 4.
Blackmore also provided details of Damien’s involvement in the leadup to Sept. 4. This information was based on one of 4,600 calls received between Sept. 3 and 8, and is based on what is currently known to investigators about the activities of Damien Snderson before the attacks.
She reported that on Sept. 3 at 4 a.m., Melfort RCMP received a report of a stolen vehicle. The caller wished to remain anonymous. At 4:15 AM, two officers from Melfort RCMP responded. On their way to James Smith Cree Nation as part of their investigation, they confirmed that Damien Sanderson had a warrant for his arrest for a previous assault.
The two officers looked at a photo of Damien in their police records. The most recent photo in their system was from 2014.
The officers contacted the caller who declined to provide a statement to police or further details about the stolen vehicle.
The officers conducted extensive patrols throughout James Smith Cree Nation in an attempt to locate the stolen vehicle. Officers contacted the caller a second time to see if they would know of any other locations where Damien could be the caller suggested searching for the vehicle on North Road on James Smith Cree Nation. Officers immediately went to the search area and located the vehicle parked in front of a residence on North Road with the windows down, and keys missing.
The owner was contacted and plan to retrieve the vehicle. Officers then spoke to occupants of a nearby RV but none had seen Damien.
Officers knocked on the door of the residence and got consent from the homeowner to conduct a search for Damien. Inside the residence, officers observed three males among a group of approximately seven individuals. The males in the residence were asked to identify themselves. None of them identified as Damien Sanderson. The keys to the stolen vehicle were recovered from inside the residence and officers were unable to obtain any information from the occupants about how the vehicle got there.
The caller came to retrieve the vehicle at around 6 a.m. and was asked by officers if there were any other locations Damien may be in, and the caller suggested checking a residence on River Street. But the occupants there advised Damien was not there.
Officers checked every location in the community in its entirety over approximately three hours from when the initial report was received. There was no evidence or witnesses individuals available at the time to support a charge of a stolen vehicle.
Through follow-up statements during their investigation, RCMP later confirmed that Damien had provided a false name to responding officers during the search of the residence. He had been at the residence and verbally provided officers with the name of another real person in the community. Investigators were also able to confirm the vehicle was taken from the caller between noon and 9 p.m. on Sept. 2.
At no point on Sept. 3, in any of the conversations between RCMP and the caller, was Myles Sanderson’s name, actions or threats of violence reported to police, said Blackmore.
“Saskatchewan RCMP had no information or indication that would suggest any violence was to occur. The events that were going to unfold the next day were unknown to police at that time.”
As a result of the ongoing investigation, Blackmore said investigators have been able to determine the following:
Myles and Damien Sanderson were actively selling drugs in the community on Sept. 3.
Both Myles and Damien were involved in at least three other violent altercations involving other individuals on James Smith Cree Nation.
Blackmore confirmed these were assault incidents, but it is unclear whether weapons were involved. These took place before the homicides on Sept. 4.
Evidence collected by investigators to date has determined Damien was involved in the preparations for attacks on Sept. 4. RCMP are still investigating the extent of his involvement.
On Sept. 5, Damien Sanderson was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of break and enter, based on the preliminary investigation.
After completing 250 interviews, processing over 670 exhibits and reviewing and following up on over 900 calls for service, investigators determined that Damien was a victim of homicide by Myles Sanderson and that all the homicides were committed by Myles alone.
Following the deaths of both Damien and Myles Sanderson, all charges were withdrawn by the Crown. The coroner's office has confirmed that a public inquest will be held into the death of Myles Sanderson in police custody.
“Saskatchewan RCMP believes it is important to clarify Damien‘s involvement in the sequence of these events to demonstrate our continued commitment to transparency to the victims' families of those affected and to the public,” said Blackmore.
“Our investigators continued to corroborate victims' statements with physical evidence and exhibits to create an accurate picture of the motives behind these crimes and why some of the victims were targeted. This will take time to complete and the reality is we may never really know exactly why. Based on the large quantity of information it will take months to provide a full timeline of all the events that took place prior to and following September 4. The RCMP Major Crimes Unit is currently reviewing all the evidence to piece together a comprehensive timeline to provide an accurate picture of the events, which we remain committed to sharing with the public once it is complete.”
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