1 suspect in Canada mass stabbing found dead, the other still missing Transcript

Nick: (00:00)
At least 10 people are dead, 18 others injured, at least 13 crime scenes across a remote indigenous reserve and beyond. Two suspects, brothers Miles and Damien Sanderson. Then late this morning, Damien was found dead on the reserve. Miles possibly injured, still on the run.

Speaker 2: (00:21)
We consider him armed and dangerous. Do not approach him.

Nick: (00:26)
This woman says her elderly neighbor is among those murdered.

Speaker 3: (00:30)
Now I’m terrified to go to sleep at night. I’m terrified to open my door.

Speaker 2: (00:36)
We are undertaking every effort to locate them as quickly as possible to ensure the safety of the public

Nick: (00:42)
5:40 AM Sunday the first call came in. A stabbing on the James Smith Cree nation. Within minutes, more calls, more stabbings. 7:57 AM authorities released photographs of the Sanderson brothers, both named by those callers. 8:20 AM, a dangerous person’s alert is extended across all of Saskatchewan. Both brothers believed to be on the move in a black Nissan Rogue.

Justin Trudeau: (01:10)
Priority is keeping you and your loved ones safe, so please be careful.

Nick: (01:16)
9:45 AM, a victim is found outside the reserve in the nearby town of Weldon. 11:45 AM, that black Nissan reportedly spotted nearly 200 miles to the south in Regina, Saskatchewan’s capital city.

Speaker 5: (01:32)
We are very confident that that miles was in the city yesterday. Up until two hours ago, we assumed that it was both of them. But having said that, we are confident that there were two people in that vehicle. And so at this point, we don’t know who else was in the vehicle.

Nick: (01:48)
All this death and damage done apparently by blades, not bullets.

Speaker 6: (01:54)
In cases where it’s not easy, in countries where it’s not very easy to get guns we’ve seen stabbings before. This is that we’ve seen them in Europe and in other areas. So that may be one explanation.

Nick: (02:04)
Sympathy and solidarity from Canada’s Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and this is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities. No comment on a possible drug connection from the police.

Speaker 2: (02:21)
It appears that some of the victims may have been targeted and some may be random. So to speak to a motive would be extremely difficult at this point in time.

Speaker 7: (02:31)
Nick [inaudible 00:02:32] joins us now. Nick, thank you for that reporting. What are the police saying right now about how Damien Sanderson died?

Nick: (02:40)
Well, poppy, they are saying that his injuries are visible injuries. They do not believe that they are self inflicted at this point. And they are of course investigating the possibility that Damien Sanderson was killed by his brother, Miles. Now, Miles they say is injured. That is important, because he may be going somewhere to seek medical attention. So they’re asking people to keep an eye out on that. He right now faces three counts already, three counts of first degree murder. But the man hunt for Miles Sanderson goes on.

Speaker 7: (03:18)
Nick [inaudible 00:03:20] live for us tonight. Thanks very much. Out front now, Chris Swecker former assistant FBI director for the criminal investigative division. He oversaw the FBI’s five year manhunt for the Olympic park bomber. Chris, thanks very much for being with us. So Nick’s reporting just laid it out. Damian Sanderson is found dead. He has injuries that are not believed to be self-inflicted, which raises so many questions. His brother Miles still on the run. Police say he could also be injured. What comes to mind? What are the biggest questions in your mind when you hear all of that?

Chris Swecker: (03:50)
Well, first and foremost, there’s a very dangerous person on the loose here. The sheer brutality of this crime, this crime spree, if you will, not a lot of detail about exactly what the venues are or where the crime scenes are. But it appears he went door to door and just started, both of them started just slashing people and killing.

Chris Swecker: (04:14)
That’s what sticks out, is that there doesn’t seem that … well, they’re not talking about a motive at this point, and some of the victims may have been targeted. But it appears that in other cases, they’re killing for the sheer joy of killing. And that is what makes them so dangerous. I think this case is going to be solved or at least the arrest is going to take place based on tips from the public, because they don’t seem to have any new leads since the siding of the vehicle.

Speaker 7: (04:41)
Right. And that’s a great point that police have essentially said their only major lead is now a day old. They believe Miles Sanderson was in a black SUV that was spotted almost four hours south of the stabbing scene on Sunday afternoon. When you’ve got a key lead that old, how much harder does it get to find someone?

Chris Swecker: (05:02)
Extremely difficult, particularly if they know that their pictures are out there, he’s likely to go underground. It’s just as likely that he would do a carjacking or a home invasion and just stay put for the time being. I think we also have to consider the possibility that some of these victims fought back. The fact that the one brother of course is dead and the other is injured, tells me that some of the victims fought back.

Chris Swecker: (05:29)
I don’t know where they’re getting the information that one brother may have killed the other. That doesn’t seem as plausible to me. Also, we know that there are some very explicit eyewitness accounts, because one brother’s charged with three murders, the other is with one. And that suggests that somebody parsed out exactly who did what.

Speaker 7: (05:50)
The numbers are just so shocking. 10 people killed in this way, 18 others injured. And police said in that press conference tonight that they have a wide range of ages, right? The youngest in their very early 20s. And they believe all of them, again were stabbed, not shot. I just wonder what that tells you or what questions it raises to you about any motive and the people who they believe carried this out.

Chris Swecker: (06:19)
It seems personal to me. The choice of knives and blades and the manual struggle of killing people with knives just seems very personal. Some of the Cree Nation leaders are saying that this has to do with drugs. That might be a partial explanation here. Some people were targeted specifically. Maybe there are grudges. I guess at this point, the motive is secondary to just getting this person in custody and all the evidence of that can be parsed out later. But I think all resources, all hands are on deck trying to find this one person. I would say just based on 40 years of experience, that he’s underground right now, not moving about.

Speaker 7: (06:59)
And as you said, some targeted and some killed randomly. It is a frantic search tonight. That is for sure. Chris Swecker, thank you very much.