Inquest begins into a 2022 stabbing rampage in Canada that killed 11 and injured 17
Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore speaks next to images of Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson during a news conference at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "F" Division headquarters, Sept. 4, 2022, in Regina, Saskatchewan. Canadian authorities on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, launched an inquest into a stabbing rampage last year that left 11 people dead and 17 injured last year. Sanderson, the 32-year-old accused in the attacks on James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon on Sept. 4, 2022, died in police custody a few days later. Credit: AP/Michael Bell
MELFORD, Saskatchewan — A public inquest began Monday into a stabbing rampage that left 11 people dead and 17 injured on a Saskatchewan First Nation on Sept. 4, 2022.
Myles Sanderson, the 32-year-old accused in the attacks on James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon, died in police custody a few days later.
“The objective is to have the story told, honor those victims that died on that day and try to come up with some recommendations that will help prevent this from happening again in the future,” said Clive Weighill, Saskatchewan’s chief coroner.
The Saskatchewan Coroners Service has said the inquest is expected to last at least two weeks.
A six-person jury was finalized Monday morning. Two other people, who will attend the inquest and listen to all of the evidence, were chosen as alternates. A jury can also make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
A second inquest focusing on Sanderson’s death is scheduled in February. Public inquests are mandatory in Saskatchewan when a person dies in police custody.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have described how Sanderson was stealing vehicles, breaking down doors and going door-to-door stabbing people during the rampage.
Police and investigators gather at the scene where a stabbing suspect was arrested, Sept. 7, 2022, in Rosthern, Saskatchewan. Canadian authorities on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, launched an inquest into the stabbing rampage last year that left 11 people dead and 17 injured last year. Credit: AP/Heywood Yu
“There’s not going to be a trial, so this is the only way that the family and the public can hear exactly what happened,” Weighill said.
Family members of the victims gathered Monday to smudge, a traditional practice for safety, well-being and healing, before the inquest began.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, extended sympathies to all affected.
“Together, as a Nation, we mourn with the people of James Smith Cree Nation,” Chief Bobby Cameron said in a news release.
People hold candles at a vigil in honor of the victims of a mass stabbing incident at James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Saskatchewan, Sept. 7, 2022, in front of City Hall in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Canadian authorities on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, launched an inquest into the stabbing rampage last year that left 11 people dead and 17 injured last year. Credit: AP/Heywood Yu
Wally Bruns, chief of James Smith Cree Nation, said he hopes the inquest will provide recommendations about self-administered policing for the First Nation. He also said he would like to see First Nations receive a notification when a member is released from prison.
Sanderson, who had a record of violent assaults, had received statutory release earlier that year but was unlawfully at large at the time of the killings.
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