Mother-of-two named as first victim of Canadian massacre that left 10 dead and 15 injured as police hunt two suspects
4 September 2022, 23:25 | Updated: 5 September 2022, 11:38
A mother-of-two has is the first victim to be named, as police continue to search for two men who stabbed to death ten people and injured 15 others in rural Canada.
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Paying tribute to Lana Head, her former partner, Michael Brett Burns said the grandmother will be "dearly missed".
Police said they were searching for two suspects, Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson, who they said were travelling in a black Nissan Rogue.
Rhonda Blackmore, assistant commissioner of the RCMP Saskatchewan, said some of the victims appear to have been targeted by the suspects, but others appear to have been attacked at random.
The attacks happened at the James Smith Cree Nation, an indigenous community of some 2,000 and in the village of Weldon, north-east of Saskatoon, police said.
A shelter in place order was issued as the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police tweeted: "Do not leave a secure location. Use caution allowing others into your residence."
Dangerous person alerts were sent to all phones in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta provinces.
Checkpoints have been set up to catch the suspects while drivers were warned against picking up hitchhikers.
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, described it as "horrific and heartbreaking" and added: "I am shocked and devastated by the horrific attacks today.
"Those responsible for today's abhorrent attacks must be fully brought to justice."
Ms Blackmore could not provide a motive.
"It is horrific what has occurred in our province today," she said.
Thirteen crime scenes are currently being investigated and the public has been warned to take "appropriate cautions".
The search for the suspects was under way as fans descended on nearby Regina for a sold-out game between the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Regina Police Service said that with the help of the Mounties, they were working on several fronts to arrest the suspects and had "deployed additional resources for public safety throughout the city, including the football game at Mosaic Stadium".
The Saskatchewan Health Authority said patients were being treated at several sites.
"A call for additional staff was issued to respond to the influx of casualties," authority spokeswoman Anne Linemann said.
Mark Oddan, ambulance service spokesman, said two helicopters were dispatched from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and another from Regina.
