LATEST UPDATE: RCMP adjusted their tally of the people injured during the rampage to 17 from the 18 that was said previously. This copy has been updated to reflect the latest information provided by RCMP on April 27, 2023.
The Saskatchewan RCMP gave a preliminary timeline of the events surrounding the James Smith Cree Nation stabbings that devastated the province.
Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore and Superintendent Joshua Graham are set to give a four hour presentation on the September 4, 2022 mass casualty homicide, which Global News will be streaming live.
Myles Sanderson left 11 people dead and 17 injured in his stabbing spree that affected the First Nation, as well as the nearby community of Weldon.
Police were on a manhunt for Sanderson, which eventually led to his capture on September 7, 2022 in the evening near Rosthern.
Global News confirmed Sanderson was dead a short while later, with police sources saying Sanderson died in police custody after ingesting drugs. RCMP have not confirmed the cause of Sanderson’s death.
RCMP said they are releasing the timeline after consulting with surviving victims and family members, adding that they were given the presentation beforehand.
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Police said that the presentation will focus on the activities of Myles and Damien Sanderson before the morning on Sept. 4, the sequence of the attacks, and their movement throughout the community.
An inquest by the Saskatchewan Coroner’s Service was launched into the 11 deaths at James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon , as well as a separate inquest into the death of Myles Sanderson, but those results won’t be brought forward until January 2024.
The inquests were meant to inform the public about the circumstances surrounding these deaths, as well as to highlight any potentially dangerous practices and to offer recommendations to avoid preventable deaths.
Chief Coroner Clive Weighill noted back in February that a lack of a public trial due to Sanderson’s death would leave many questions unanswered, and due to Sanderson’s death in police custody, an inquest into his death was mandatory.
Saskatchewan RCMP giving a timeline of the events surrounding the James Smith Cree Nation stabbings.
Saskatchewan RCMP stress that the timeline won’t impact the inquests, and therefore won’t talk about the following topics:
- information about Myles Sanderson being unlawfully at large
- Correctional Service of Canada and Parole Canada information
- police response to the attacks
- specific details about what happened at each location, as well as information related to the cause and manner of the deaths.
- details around Myles Sanderson’s arrest
Police said Myles Sanderson travelled to James Smith Cree Nation on Sept. 1, 2022 and was involved in selling cocaine over the next 24 hours.
Myles when was a passenger in a vehicle on Sept. 2, he assaulted the female driver, and police said when the driver exited the vehicle, Myles had tried to use it as a weapon to cause the driver more harm.
Officers said he left the residence with Damien and the SUV, picking up another woman on the way, and continued to drive around selling drugs.
On Sept. 3 just after midnight, police said Damien and Myles got in a fight with another man, noting that nobody was seriously injured, but adding that they believed the altercation was drug related.
Myles and Damien left the house where the fight took place and went to another, with police receiving a report around 4 a.m. that Damien had stolen a vehicle and that he might be driving impaired.
The caller requested to have the vehicle retrieved, and also wanted to remain anonymous.
Two officers located the vehicle around 5:35 a.m. at a home, spoke with the occupants, and searched the home with the homeowner’s consent.
The keys for the vehicle were found sitting on a table, but the residents denied that Damien was around and couldn’t explain how the vehicle got there.
The two officers couldn’t locate anyone in the home that looked like Damien, with police saying the most recent photo of him in the database was from 2014.
The caller retrieved the vehicle and provided police with another location where Damien might be found, but officers were told by those residents that he wasn’t thereeither.
Officers patrolled the entire community for three hours with no results, and police said at no time was Myles Sanderson’s name mentioned.
It was noted that after the interviews from the mass casualty homicide, police determined that Damien was in the house where the vehicle was found, but looked different than his 2014 photo, and had given a fake name.
Myles and Damien were picked up from the home around noon on Sept. 3 and taken to the Kinistino Bar.
They were dropped off around 1:30 p.m., walked around for several hours and went to another residence at 5 p.m.
It was reported that Myles had said he was there for “one body — Gregory Burns.”
Burns was invited to the home and was assaulted by Damien and Myles, with police noting that no one was seriously injured.
After the assault, Damien and Myles split up, with Myles remaining in James Smith Cree Nation, and Damien heading to the Kinistino Bar with two other men.
Police reported that while at the bar, Damien had told a woman that he and Myles had “a mission to do” and that “people would hear all about it in the next few hours.”
Damien met up with Myles just before midnight in James Smith Cree Nation and assaulted a man in his home, with police noting there were no serious injuries.
They went from one home to another and took a grey 2006 Dodge Caravan sometime before 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 4.
Myles and Damien made their last known drug sale around 4 a.m.
Myles and Damien went to a home around 4:45 a.m. with an occupant describing the pair as “guzzling booze” and “pumping themselves up” for something. They then left in the van together.
Officers note that besides the vehicle theft report on Sept. 3, none of these other altercations were reported to police before the mass casualty homicides.
They add there was no indicator that the stabbings would occur.
Around 5:30 a.m., Myles and Damien arrived at another home and forcibly entered the building looking for a woman.
The woman wasn’t found, but Myles told a child in the house that it would be the last time they’d see him.
Myles took a cellphone and left with Damien in the van.
The pair forced themselves into another house where Myles attacked a man with scissors.
Damien stopped the assault by stepping in between the two, and told the victim to not call the police before Myles took a knife from the kitchen, and the pair left again.
The injured man called 911, which was around 5:40 a.m., and was the first indicator that any violence was taking place, according to police.
Officers went to the Melfort detachment to get equipment, left Melfort by 5:52 a.m. and arrived on the First Nation by 6:18 a.m.
Video from police show the speed the police vehicle was going as 178 km/h.
When officers arrived, they began the investigation, provided medical assistance, and called in more RCMP officers.
Police said Myles and Damien had an altercation while in the van.
Investigators said Damien tried to escape the assault in the van by getting out and running into the nearby bushes, where he later died, and was found by police on Sept. 5.
Myles, who was now alone in the van, crashed it into a home, kicked open the back door to the house and attacked Robert Sanderson and another man. Myles then fled on foot.
He then forced his way into another home and attacked a man and a woman, who fled the home.
Myles then attacked Christian Head and Lana Head. He took Christian’s white 2004 Ford F350 truck after the attack.
He forced his way into another house and attacked another man and woman, who fled the house and removed the keys to the truck.
Myles walked on foot and entered Bonnie and Gregory Burns’ home through a window, where he attacked Bonnie and Gregory, as well as two boys.
Police said Myles fled on foot again, making a stop at a home where a witness described him as bloody.
Myles demanded keys to a vehicle, but the witness refused, saying Myles called them “lucky” just before he left on foot.
Officers report that Myles forced his way into another home, demanded keys from a witness, and took a white 2011 GMC Terrain.
He forced himself into another house, and attacked Earl Burns and a woman. This was reported to police around 6:19 a.m.
Myles fled in the Terrain, and Earl took chase in a school bus.
Police said they later found the bus on the side of the road with Earl dead inside.
Myles entered another home through a back door and attacked Thomas Burns, Carol Burns and two other men.
Thomas fled outside with Myles following, who then stuck Thomas with the GMC Terrain, got out of the vehicle, and attacked him again before fleeing on foot.
Myles knocked on the door of another home where he was let inside. Occupants described Myles as wearing blood stained clothing, and heard him talking about how many “bodies” he had.
Police said Myles attacked two men in the house, injured one of the men, and fled on foot again.
He went to another home, had a conversation with a resident, attacked the resident and fled on foot again.
Myles went to another residence, forced his way in and demanded keys to a vehicle, but ended up fleeing on foot after a woman refused to let Myles hurt anyone else in the home.
He attacked another woman and man after breaking into another home and demanding vehicle keys. Myles drove away in a red Dodge Caravan.
After stealing the vehicle, Myles abandoned it in a grassy area and walked back to Bonnie Burns’ home.
At this time, Lydia Gloria Burns was at the residence after Bonnie had called asking for assistance. Myles attacked both women.
Myles walked to another home, broke in through the back door and demanded keys to a vehicle. He took a black 2016 Nissan Rogue.
He went to another home looking for a resident who wasn’t there at the time, but couldn’t find him, and instead attacked two women in the house before leaving again in the Nissan.
Police received this report around 6:53 a.m., and said Myles had drove to Kinistino.
In Kinistino around 7 a.m., Myles spoke with a woman, wanting money and gas, but left in the Nissan without either.
Video footage from the local Co-op gas station showed the Nissan leave down Highway 3 towards Weldon.
Myles stopped at Wesley Petterson’s residence and attacked him.
The first Dangerous Persons Alert was issued at 7:12 a.m., and was the first of 11 emergency alerts issued from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7.
RCMP said they received hundreds of tips between Sept.4 to Sept.7.
Police said Myles approached an acreage on Sept.7 near Crystal Springs. The woman in the home recognized Myles from photos released by RCMP.
Myles broke into the house through a window and demanded a vehicle, and he left in a white 2008 Chevy Avalanche.
RCMP received this report around 2:06 p.m.
Myles drove the vehicle to a home on the One Arrow First Nation and spoke with a resident, later leaving the First Nation at a high rate of speed.
An emergency alert was broadcast at 2:49 p.m. warning of the Chevy Avalanche theft, and the suspected driver being Myles Sanderson.
RCMP spotted the vehicle around 3:17 p.m. near Rosthern, and all available RCMP vehicles gave chase.
Police said the vehicle failed to stop for RCMP, and weaved into oncoming traffic.
Officers directed the vehicle off the road and into a ditch by 3:28 p.m., where Myles was then arrested.
Myles showed signs of going into medical distress around 3:33 p.m. He received medical attention and was taken to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon where he was declared dead.
Police said in the first month of the investigation they examined 20 properties on James Smith Cree Nation, in Weldon, and in the Crystal Springs area.
Eight vehicles were examined, and police said they had 42 different crime scenes.
Officers noted that the investigation is not over.
Over 500 RCMP officers and employees have been involved in the investigation, with police adding that 257 witness interviews have been completed, and roughly 750 gigabytes of data has been processed to date.
As to why officers believed Myles may have been in Regina, Blackmore said at the time that information came from a credible source, and they received multiple tips along the same lines.
Blackmore said Myles’ actions were erratic, noting he was stealing and abandoning several vehicles.
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