Among the people coping with the tragedy that has shaken the nation are the first responders who cared for the victims of the mass stabbing that claimed 10 lives from James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) and the village of Weldon, Sask.
Parkland Ambulance in Prince Albert says its paramedic teams cared for six of the stabbing victims. The public affairs director says his team is doing well in the aftermath, but they are not immune to tragedy.
“The horrific nature and the magnitude of this incident certainly speaks to hitting the core,” said Lyle Karasiuk. “I think not only in our paramedic teams and our communication teams but in citizens across Saskatchewan.”
Parkland Ambulance cannot release details about the injuries or the ages of the victims, but Karasiuk said the paramedic services from Melfort, Tisdale and Nipawin also responded.
“It doesn’t matter where it’s happening in this province, there are what are called mutual aid agreements, which allow the service responsible for the area to draw upon other neighbouring services,” he said.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) confirmed 17 individuals with injuries related to Sunday’s events were it has admitted to hospitals in the province.
“As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, September 6, there are 10 patients who remain in-hospital,” a prepared statement said. “Three patients are in critical condition, seven are in stable condition and, since Sunday, seven individuals have been discharged. Please note that SHA numbers may differ slightly from other agencies as we only track and report on admissions to hospitals.”
The SHA also expressed their sympathies to the families affected by the tragedy at James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon.
“As a symbol of our support for the people and communities we serve that were impacted by this terrible tragedy, we are lowering our flags to half-mast,” SHA stated.
On the morning of Sept. 4, SHA activated their emergency response processes as a result of the stabbing spree, which included initiating protocols for accepting a high number of critical patients where a Code Orange was made.
However, SHA stated they are no longer expecting intake of a high number of patients and have discontinued Code Orange protocols.
— With files from Tanner Chubey