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Mounties arrest second suspect in Canada stabbing spree that left 10 dead, 18 injured after massive four-day manhunt

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          • Myles Sanderson was arrested on Wednesday near Rosthern, RCMP said

The second man wanted in a grisly stabbing spree on an indigenous reservation in Canada has been taken into custody after a four day manhunt.

Myles Sanderson, who was the target of a massive manhunt across the Saskatchewan province, was apprehended on Wednesday afternoon near Rosthern, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

‘There is no longer a risk to public safety relating to this investigation. Updates to come,’ an RCMP spokesperson said in a statement.

Sanderson, 30, had been the only remaining suspect at large in the Sunday massacre left 10 dead and 18 injured on the James Smith Cree Nation reservation.

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Sanderson’s brother Damien – his alleged accomplice in the massacre – was found dead Monday, of injuries cops say were likely not self-inflicted.

The RCMP said they were looking into whether Damien may have been killed by his brother.

‘It is an investigative avenue that we are following up on, but we can’t say that definitively at this point’ an RCMP spokesperson said.

All ten victims of the grisly stabbing spree on an indigenous reservation in Canada have been identified.

The victims were Lana Head, 49, a mother of two; Christian Head, 54; Gregory Burns, 28; Gregory’s aunt Gloria Lydia Burns, 61, an addictions counsellor who was killed responding to an emergency stabbing call; Gloria’s sister-in-law Bonnie Burns, 48; Thomas Burns, 23; Carol Burns, 46; Earl Burns, a Canadian military veteran; Robert Sanderson, 49; and Wesley Patterson, 77.

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

The attacks were among the deadliest in Canada’s modern history – and some of the victims appeared to have been targeted, while others were apparently random.

A mother of two, a 77-year-old widower, a first responder and a 14-year-old boy were the initial victims identified.

The siblings – who were described as armed and dangerous – are the chief suspects in attacks on 29 people in 13 different locations on the James Smith Cree Nation on Sunday afternoon.

Myles Sanderson has been wanted since May when he stopped going to court mandated visits with his parole officer.

He disappeared while out on parole on a five year sentence for assault, robbery, mischief and making threats, according to Regina police chief, Evan Bray.

He was charged with three counts of murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder and one count of breaking and entering.

Damien Sanderson was previously charged with one count of murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder and one count of breaking and entering. But police confirmed that he’s now been found dead.

‘We know. We are confident that someone out there knows the whereabouts of these two and has information that would be valuable to the police,’ said Bray. ‘I urge you to get in touch with your local police service.’

The brothers fled in a black Nissan Rogue SUV which was spotted 200 miles south of the indigenous reserve.

‘This is my brothers’ vehicle that they took when they entered our home this morning in James Smith Cree Nation,’ a woman posted on Facebook, according to SkyNews Canada.

‘We (can’t) care less about the vehicle but let these monsters be caught.’

The brothers are believed to have stabbed the victims across 13 sites in the indigenous reserve and in the nearby village of Weldon, northeast of the city of Saskatoon.

A police alert and search expanded from Saskatchewan to include neighboring Manitoba and Alberta provinces – a vast region half the size of Europe.

The chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations suggested the stabbings could be drug-related, as it emerged that Myles was listed as ‘unlawfully at large’ by police in May.

The devastated community named Lana Head, the mother of two daughters, as one of the victims of the attack and said she died alongside her partner, who has not been identified.

Wes Petterson, a 77-year-old widower, was the second victim to be named by locals.

Following the frenzied stabbing, the armed suspects reportedly fled the scene in the Nissan which was since spotted in Regina, a city about 208 miles south of the communities where the stabbings occurred, police said.

Blackmore, the Assistant Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said some of the victims appear to have been targeted by the suspects – but others appear to have been attacked at random.

Canadian cops hunt two suspects after ten dead in stabbings

The first stabbings were reported at 5.40am in James Smith Cree Nation, a sparsely populated indigenous community with a population of about 3,400 people largely engaged in farming, hunting and fishing.

Weldon is a village of some 200 people.

Within three hours of the stabbings, police issued a province-wide dangerous persons alert. By Sunday afternoon, similar alerts were also issued in Saskatchewan’s neighboring provinces Alberta and Manitoba.

The elected leaders of the three communities that make up the James Smith Cree Nation, including the Chakastaypasin Band and the Peter Chapman Band, declared a local state of emergency and opened up two emergency operations centers.

Massacre timeline 

September 4, 5.40am: Police receive report of a stabbing in James Smith Cree Nation

7.12am: Police urge public to find shelter and issue Dangerous Persons Alert

7.57am: Police reveal names and pictures of two suspects

12.07pm: Suspected vehicle is spotted in Regina

3.45pm: Police announce 10 have been killed and 15 injured across 13 locations

September 5, 11.45am: Injuries rise to 19

3.50pm: Body of Damien Sanderson found at James Smith Cree Nation

September 6: Police converge with guns drawn on a home in the reservation after reports Myles was seen in the area. Authorities also issued a shelter-in-place order to surrounding community

Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, a group which represents 74 First Nations in the state of Saskatchewan, suggested the stabbings were drug-related.

‘This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities, and we demand all authorities to take direction from the Chiefs and Councils and their membership to create safer and healthier communities for our people,’ Cameron said.

The former partner of Lana Head, who was killed in the attack, also suggested the attack was linked to drugs and alcohol.

Michael Brett Burns, who has two daughters with Head, told the Aboriginal People’s Television Network: ‘It’s sick how jail time, drugs and alcohol can destroy many lives.

‘I’m hurt for all this loss.’

Burns earlier paid tribute to his ex-partner, writing on Facebook: ‘You will be missed dearly Lana. Thank you for beautiful daughters and granddaughters.’

A friend also paid tribute to Head, writing on Facebook: ‘I love you and say prayers for your children, grandchildren, your family. I am going to miss your sweet hello’s and messages. I will forever cherish your sweet demeanor and caring ways.’

Ruby Works said the second named victim, Wes Petterson, was like an uncle to her.

‘I collapsed and hit the ground. I’ve known him since I was just a little girl,’ she said, describing the moment she heard the news.

She said he loved his cats, was proud of his homemade Saskatoon berry jam and frequently helped out his neighbors.

‘He didn’t do anything. He didn’t deserve this. He was a good, kind hearted man,’ said Works.

Weldon resident Robert Rush described Petterson as a gentle, widowed man in his 70s. ‘He wouldn’t hurt a fly,’ he said.

Rush said Petterson’s adult grandson was in the basement at the time of the stabbing and phoned police.

Chakastaypasin Chief Calvin Sanderson – who is not related to the suspects – said everyone’s been affected by the tragic events.

‘They were our relatives, friends,’ Sanderson said of the victims. ‘It’s pretty horrific.’

Indigenous people account for less than five per cent of Canada’s population of about 38 million and suffer from higher levels of poverty, unemployment and a lower life expectancy than other Canadians.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, tweeted:  ‘The attacks in Saskatchewan today are horrific and heartbreaking. I’m thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured.

‘We are closely monitoring the situation, and urge everyone to follow updates from local authorities,’ he continued.

‘Thank you to all the brave first responders for their efforts on the ground.’

The deadliest gun rampage in Canadian history occurred in 2020 when a man disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires across the province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people.

A man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto in 2019. But mass killings are less common in Canada than in the United States.

A police forensics team investigates a crime scene following the horrific killing spree

• A police forensics team investigates a crime scene following the horrific killing spree

A police officer walks through the scene of a stabbing in Weldon, Saskatchewan
• A police officer walks through the scene of a stabbing in Weldon, Saskatchewan
A police forensics team investigates a crime scene after multiple people were killed and injured in a stabbing spree in Weldon, Saskatchewan
• A police forensics team investigates a crime scene after multiple people were killed and injured in a stabbing spree in Weldon, Saskatchewan
Investigators gather in front of a table near the scene of stabbing in Weldon, Saskatchewan

• Investigators gather in front of a table near the scene of stabbing in Weldon, Saskatchewan

Deadly mass stabbings are more rare than mass shootings but have happened around the world.

In 2014, 29 people were slashed and stabbed to death at a train station in China’s southwestern city of Kunming.

In 2016, a mass stabbing at a facility for the mentally disabled in Sagamihara, Japan, left 19 people dead.

A year later, three men killed eight people in a vehicle and stabbing attack at London Bridge. (Daily Mail)

International

Six people missing as plane vanishes from Bermuda to Boston

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Six people are missing after a private jet vanished, sparking a major search off the coast of Nantucket in the US. Picture: X
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There are grave fears for the passengers of a private plane that suddenly vanished mid-flight, sparking a major search off the coast of the US.

Six people are missing after a private jet vanished en route from Bermuda to Boston, sparking a major search off the coast of Nantucket in the US.

US authorities say the Gulfstream G100 lost contact with air traffic control about 2am local time on Saturday (4pm Saturday AET) while flying from L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda to Boston Logan International Airport.

The US Coast Guard said the Federal Aviation Administration alerted it after contact was lost with the aircraft – which plummeted from 23,500 feet to 11,000 feet in just three minutes, according to FlightAware data.

“We are praying for a safe outcome,” a spokesperson for Latitude Air Ambulance, which operates the missing plane, told City News.

A search is now under way off Nantucket in the air and on water as crews work to locate the missing jet, the Coast Guard said. Data from FlightRadar24 showed a number of aircraft searching south of the island.

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Six people are missing after a private jet vanished, sparking a major search off the coast of Nantucket in the US.

The plane was en route from Bermuda to Boston when it vanished.

“Air & surface crews have launched in search of the aircraft. Updates will be provided here as info becomes available,” the Coast Guard Northeast District said on X.

The plane was carrying out a medical evacuation in Bermuda – a British overseas territory in the north Atlantic Ocean, according to Clarence Togeretz, Director of Flight Operations at Latitude Air Ambulance.

“We always get rather concerned when our crew doesn’t report to us in a timely manner,” he told NBC News.

“But I will say that again, optimistically and positively, that doesn’t mean that the worst has happened.”

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International

27 feared dead after two mass shootings in South Africa

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People gather at the store in Lwandle, near Cape Town, where 10 people were killed. Photograph: Esa Alexander/Reuters
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Twenty-seven people have been killed in two mass shootings hours apart in South Africa, the latest gun violence to hit the country.

Seventeen people were killed when eight gunmen stormed a bar close to Johannesburg on Saturday evening, with 15 more injured.

In a separate shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning, 10 people were killed outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town and a further 11 were injured.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world and has struggled to contain gang-related gun violence in recent years. Police have not indicated a motive for either of the latest attacks.

In Johannesburg, gunmen opened fire on customers outside the bar before continuing the attack inside and torching two vehicles before fleeing.

Police said thirteen men and four women were killed.

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Deputy provincial police commissioner Maj Gen Fred Kekana said the attack may have been a retaliation for an incident last month, in which one person was killed and another wounded, according to AFP news agency.

Speaking at the scene, he said police had clear pictures and in some cases names for the suspects.

In Cape Town, five victims died at the scene and a further five people died in hospital.

No arrests had been made in either case on Sunday morning.

The two mass shootings came days after 11 people were killed in the city of Duban when gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township.

Reuters An armed guard walking down a road with people looking on from behind police tape
Armed security forces were deployed to the scene of a mass shooting in Cape Town on Sunday morning

Illegal weapons are prevalent in South Africa and gun violence has been a persistent problem for decades, with about 60 murders recorded every day in the country of 62 million.

But a recent spate of mass shootings has raised fears that the problem is deepening, with violence often linked to turf wars between gangs engaged in drug trafficking and illegal mining.

In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa called organised crime “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development”.

Earlier this year the military was deployed alongside police in areas with the highest murder rates in an effort to reduce armed violence.

On Saturday a tenth woman’s body was found in Ekurhuleni, to the east of Johannesburg, with local police saying they were unable to rule out a serial killer operating in the area with similarities between the deaths. (BBC)

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US has deported 25,000 to third countries under secretive deals – Report

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U.S. President Donald Trump
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The United States has deported more than 25,000 people under secretive agreements with 35 countries to take migrants with no ties to those nations, according to an investigation published Monday.

Since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, Washington has been signing deals with developing countries to take migrants who cannot legally be sent home.

The investigation by Forbidden Stories found the administration has earmarked $410 million to be paid directly to the receiving countries, or to UN agencies to facilitate the returns.

At least 25,447 people had already been deported to third countries by August 31, 2026, according to data compiled by Forbidden Stories with a consortium of international journalists.

The vast majority — around 20,000 — were sent to Mexico, but the rest were dispersed to 27 other countries across Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific, and agreements have been finalised with seven more.

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The deals vary, including over which nationalities can be deported and whether people with criminal records can be accepted.

An AFP investigation earlier this year found Washington is using visa bans and restrictions on African countries to strongarm them into accepting deportees.

Lawyers told AFP that deportees were being thrown into a “legal black hole”, held without charge in countries where they have no ties and few if any rights.

Forbidden Stories said 49 of Africa’s 54 countries had been approached about accepting third-country deportees.

A little-known State Department division called the Office of Remigration, created in May 2025, has handled most of the negotiations and payments, according to Forbidden Stories.

The office is headed by Christian Jove Ehrhardt, a 41-year-old diplomat who previously worked as a security officer.

The report details his visits to Cameroon, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the US in December on accepting deportees. A week later, it also signed a five-year health assistance programme worth nearly $400 million.

The following month, the State Department said it would provide a further $30 million to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cameroon to “facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and combat illegal immigration.”

The first plane carrying deportees arrived in Cameroon on January 14.

– Payments –

Other agreements have involved direct payments to governments.

Palau, a small Pacific island nation with a population of under 18,000, signed an agreement in December 2025 to accept up to 75 third-country nationals in return for $7.5 million.

However, only three people have so far been sent under the agreement.

In Eswatini, 32 people have arrived since July 2025 out of a possible 160 under an agreement worth more than $5 million. It has accepted deportees with criminal records, the investigation found.

Of the $410 million planned for the agreements, internal State Department records showed that $81 million was earmarked for signatory governments.

The rest was intended for aid organisations, including more than $178 million for the UN’s International Organisation for Migration, and $123 million for UNHCR.

The agencies have faced criticism over their involvement, although UNHCR told Forbidden Stories that it was not party to the bilateral agreements and that US funding was being used in line with its mandate to strengthen asylum systems.

An IOM spokesperson told Forbidden Stories that the agency’s decisions to accept funding rested “on a single question: whether our engagement will improve the lives of the migrants affected. In these instances, we believe strongly it does.”

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