SASKATOON — A family of two of the victims of a brutal stabbing attack over the weekend is now relieved after the news of the arrest of the second suspect broke out late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 7.
Myles Sanderson, the second suspect that was the subject of an almost four-day province-wide manhunt, was located and arrested in Rosthern, less than an hour north of Saskatoon. The RCMP has lifted its dangerous person alert.
Sanderson, who died after being taken into custody, and his brother Damien were the suspects in a stabbing spree in 13 different locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby community of Weldon on Sunday, Sept. 4. Damien was later found dead on Monday, Sept. 5, in a grassy area on the said First Nation.
Mark Arcand, whose sister Bonnie Burns and 28-year-old nephew Gregory who were among the 10 people killed, said they now feel relieved after the relentless manhunt resulted in the arrest of Sanderson.
“Now people can start to feel safe again but also is the time for healing to begin. There is a lot of trauma that will need to be dealt with and the victims will need our continued support. This is just the start,” Arcand said in a statement released to the media.
“We would like to thank all law enforcement including the RCMP, and police services from numerous communities including Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert for their tireless efforts.”
Dealing with the loss
Arcand said they are still looking for the right answers as they try to deal with the tragic loss of his sister and his nephew. Bonnie, her son Gregory and one of her friends were brutally attacked outside her house in the James Cree Nation.
“People were killed, whether it is one or many. It is a serious situation and I think we have to look at it at that. That’s the bottom line. People have lost their lives, innocent people, and it is a serious situation,” Arcand said in an earlier interview.
“It could happen in a small town, a major city, a non-First Nations community, or a First Nation community. At the end of the day, we’ve got to look at how we work together to solve some of these issues. That’s got to be the priority. What we’ve seen this past weekend is nonsense. Innocent people getting killed.”
Arcand, who held a photo of him and his sister for the entire press briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at TCU Place’s Regal Room, said he was at the scene of the crime on Sunday adding that the incident was a difficult time for all the families of the victims.
He was joined by his brother-in-law Brian Burns; the grandfather of the four kids Shawn Burns and a good friend of the family Chuck Voicegood. Other relatives, friends and supporters of the Arcand family are also in attendance.
Brian and Bonnie, who was about to celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary later this month, had four boys with Gregory being the eldest. Brian has been taking care of his three other sons with the help of their family as they are currently staying in Saskatoon.
“We are close to the James Smith Cree Nation. Through sports, through activities [and] through ceremonies. Through everything [that] we’ve done in our lives. It’s a difficult time for all the families. A lot of people are wondering what happened. Honestly, I don’t know,” said Arcand.
Looking for answers
He said that he was trying to piece together the events that led to the fatal multiple stabbing incident on Sunday for the benefit of his family and the families of the other victims to understand what happened.
“We’re all looking for the same answers. We sit in this room. We sit in our homes. We don’t know what happened. Maybe we will never know. That is the hardest part of all of this. Trying to understand that this is a serious situation,” said Arcand.
“Because we weren’t there. There was only X amount of people in the house. Maybe we’ll get some answers. Maybe we’ll get some answers. Maybe we’ll get some answers from the RCMP. Maybe we will get the why. Right now, we’re more focused on our family to heal.”
Arcand added that they may not like the answers to all of their questions on the senseless killings but it would help provide closure to this tragic event.
“If those answers come, it would help. It may not be the answer that we want to hear or maybe it will be the answer that we want to hear. But it will help. We need to focus on what is in front of us, which is our families are strong and supportive. We’re going to lift each other up to get through this together,” he said.
Arcand said that he was at the scene and seeing his sister’s house was a traumatizing experience. Bonnie was killed outside her home as she tried to protect her three other kids, one of whom was stabbed in the neck but survived. The incident may have happened around 6 or 7 a.m.
“Driving to the community [James Smith Cree Nation] that day was the longest two hours of my life. In the back of my mind, I was hoping they are hugging each other, telling stories to each other. Those were my thoughts,” said Arcand.
“It is probably a natural feeling for all of us to feel anger. But those feelings can not solve anything. A lot of our elders, the last couple of days, have to grieve properly.”
