Canadian police searched on Monday for two men suspected of stabbing 10 people to death in an indigenous community and a nearby town, as the massive manhunt following one of the nation's deadliest mass killings entered its second day.
Authorities have said some of the victims were targeted and others appeared to have been chosen at random in a series of attacks on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the town of Weldon in Saskatchewan province. They have given no motive for the crimes, which also left 15 people wounded — but a senior indigenous leader suggested drugs were somehow involved.
Police believe the suspects were last spotted around midday on Sunday in the provincial capital of Regina, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) south of where the stabbings happened. Authorities have warned the three vast prairie provinces of central Canada — which also includes Manitoba and Alberta — to be on alert, and U.S. Border officials have been contacted.
With the suspects at large, fear continued to grip communities in the rural, working class area of Saskatchewan surrounded by farmland that were terrorised by the crimes. One witness who said he lost family members described seeing people with bloody wounds scattered throughout the Indigenous reserve.
“No one in this town is ever going to sleep again. They're going to be terrified to open their door,” said Ruby Works, who also lost someone close to her and is a resident of Weldon, which has a population of about 200 and is home to many retirees.