False alarm after stabbing suspect sighting reported on Canadian reserve

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Tuesday that Myles Sanderson, a suspect in Sunday’s mass stabbing in Saskatchewan, may have been spotted in the James Smith Cree Nation reserve.

However, after investigating, the RCMP determined he was not in fact on the reserve.

As a precaution, the RCMP urged residents to shelter in place. He is considered armed and dangerous and may have sustained injuries.

Sanderson, 30, is accused of murder after the incident which left 10 dead and 18 injured after attacks on James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby town of Weldon.

Myles Sanderson is pictured here.

Damien Sanderson, 31, who was also a suspect in the attacks, was found dead in the Indigenous community on Monday with wounds “not believed to be self-inflicted” in a grassy area near a house police were searching.

Earlier in the search for Sanderson, it was believed he was in Regina, about 200 miles south, after the vehicle the suspect had allegedly been driving was seen there.

RCMP vehicles drive away from James Smith Cree Nation, Saskatchewan, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. A notice sent via Saskatchewan's emergency alert system says further investigation by RCMP has determined Myles Sanderson is not on the James Smith Cree Nation, as an earlier warning had suggested. (Heywood Yu/)

Sanderson has previously been convicted of a number of crimes including assault, assault with a weapon, assaulting a police officer, uttering threats and robbery, according to the CBC. He had already been given a lifetime prohibited weapons ban and was wanted for violating the terms of his statutory release for prior convictions.

Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore speaks next to images of Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson during a press conference at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "F" Division headquarters in Regina, Saskatchewan, on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. (Michael Bell /)

The RCMP have not publicly released a motive for the crimes, but members of the community believe they were drug-related.

Sanderson is described as 6-foot-1, weighing 240 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He may be driving a black Nissan Rogue.