Myles Sanderson, the second suspect in a deadly stabbing spree in Canada, has died after his car was run off the road, according to local police.
The four-day manhunt had worsened grief and fear in the remote communities where 10 people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured last weekend.
One official said 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.
The other suspect, Sanderson’s 30-year-old brother, Damien Sanderson, was found dead Monday near the scene of the bloody knife attacks inside and around the James Smith Cree First Nation reserve early Sunday. Both men were residents of the Indigenous reserve.
With Sanderson dead, police may never understand what motivated him in the mass stabbing.
Police launched a renewed search operation, including aircraft, on Wednesday afternoon after being called to a report of a break-and-enter involving Sanderson armed with a knife, where a Chevrolet truck was stolen.
The truck was later spotted racing along a highway at 150km/h, sparking 20 calls of sightings. To protect the public, police moved in and “directed” Sanderson off the road near Rosthern, Saskatchewan, at approximately 3.30pm, where the arrest was made.
But an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, earlier said Sanderson died of self-inflicted injuries, without giving any further details.
Video and photos from the scene showed a white SUV off to the side of the road with police cars all around. Air bags had deployed in the SUV. Some photos and video taken from a distance appeared to show Sanderson being frisked.
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.
