RCMP lay out preliminary timeline of September rampage

The commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP focused on the victims of the Labour Day 2022 stabbing rampage to begin a media conference Thursday.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult the last seven or so months have been, as the survivors, the families, friends and loved ones of the victims, the communities, our province and our country are still reeling from this tragedy,” Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said during a media conference in Melfort.

“And also because we know everyone has been waiting for answers – answers to what happened (and) answers as to why it happened. Some of these answers, unfortunately, may never be known.”

During the media conference, the Mounties laid out a preliminary timeline of the events that happened Sept. 4 when Myles Sanderson killed 11 people – 10 on the James Smith Cree Nation and one in nearby Weldon – and hurt 17 others during his stabbing rampage.

The Mounties still don’t know why certain victims were targeted during the attacks.

After a provincewide manhunt, Sanderson was arrested by the RCMP near Rosthern on Sept. 7. Shortly after his arrest, he went into what the Mounties called “medical distress” and later died in a Saskatoon hospital.

Sanderson’s brother, Damien, was initially considered a suspect in the killings as well, but his body was found on the James Smith Cree Nation. Police determined he had been killed by Myles — and in fact was the first murder of the day.

Charges against the brothers were withdrawn after their deaths.

The RCMP said before Thursday’s event began that the information being provided wouldn’t impact the two upcoming coroner’s inquests and the independent investigation being conducted by the Saskatoon Police Service and the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team.

For that reason, the Mounties didn’t share information about Myles Sanderson being unlawfully at large and the efforts police made to find him before Sept. 4, the police response to the attacks, details about what occurred in each residence on the day of the killings, the cause and manner of the victims’ deaths, and information around Sanderson’s arrest and subsequent death.

Attendees listen as the Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes provides a preliminary timeline presentation of the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon mass casualty homicides which occurred on September 4, 2022, during a media event in Melfort, Thursday, April 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

More details about the rampage are expected to be provided once the coroner’s investigation is complete.

In her opening remarks, Blackmore said police investigated 42 different crime scenes, buildings, vehicles and more as part of investigation, More than 1,250 investigative tasks were completed, 697 exhibits were collected and 257 witness interviews were conducted.

Within the first month after the killings, investigators examined 20 properties on the James Smith Cree Nation, in Weldon and in the Crystal Springs area. They also pored over eight vehicles, including six used by Sanderson during his rampage.

“It has been, and continues to be, an incredibly complex and large-scale investigation,” Blackmore said. “The details are unimaginable.”

Following Blackmore’s remarks, Supt. Joshua Graham – the officer in charge of the Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes unit – started a presentation that laid out the timeline.

What happened when

During a presentation that lasted more than two hours, Graham laid out what investigators have learned since the attacks.

The timeline began Sept. 1, with Myles Sanderson travelling to the James Smith Cree Nation, where he sold cocaine.

Over the next three days, Graham said, the brothers continued selling drugs, Damien dodged arrest on an outstanding warrant, they got into a minor altercation with each other and then assaulted Gregory Burns.

Graham pointed out that there wasn’t any indication in those three days of the killings that were to occur. However, he noted that on Sept. 3, Damien told a woman he and Myles had “a mission to do” and that people “would hear all about it in the next few hours.”

According to police, on Sept. 4, witnesses described the brothers as “guzzling booze” and “pumping themselves up for something” before leaving in a van they had taken.

“This is the beginning of the mass stabbing incident,” Graham said.

The Mounties say the first stabbing occurred at 5:40 a.m., when Myles attacked a man with scissors in a house on the First Nation. Damien stepped between Myles and the victim, but as the brothers left the house, Myles grabbed a knife.

The victim called the RCMP, and officers from the Melfort detachment sped to the James Smith Cree Nation.

Graham said the police have determined the brothers got into an altercation in the van – and that led to Damien becoming the first fatality.

“Based on the scene examination and the investigation, we’ve determined that in an effort to escape the attack inside the van, Damien fled from the vehicle and ran into the nearby bushes and trees, where he later died,” Graham said.

In subsequent attacks at different houses, Myles killed Robert Sanderson, Christian Head, Lana Head and Gregory Burns and injured other people. Earl Burns, whom Myles had stabbed, chased Myles from the scene in a school bus before succumbing to his injuries.

At another home, Sanderson attacked Carol Burns and Thomas Burns, the latter of whom stumbled outside. Sanderson then hit Thomas with his vehicle before attacking him again. Both Carol and Thomas Burns died.

After injuring other people in separate attacks, Sanderson returned to the Burns’ home and killed Bonnie Burns and Lydia Gloria Burns as they were outside with Thomas’ body.

Police say Sanderson made his way between homes on foot or in vehicles that he stole during the day. Witnesses who encountered him said his clothes were covered in blood and he often was bragging about how many “bodies” he had left in his wake.

The Mounties say that after killing Bonnie and Lydia Gloria Burns, Sanderson stole a vehicle from another home and drove to Kinistino, where he tried to get gas and money from a resident. When his request was denied, he drove to Weldon, where he killed Wesley Petterson on his porch.

For the next three days, police received tips from across the province and the country reporting sightings of the brothers. Tips came from Regina saying the Sandersons had been seen in one of the vehicles they had stolen, prompting Regina police to issue a warning about them.

On Thursday, the Mounties said they felt they had received credible information the Sandersons were in Regina – even though Damien was dead and the vehicle they were thought to be in was in the bush near Crystal Springs – and spread that information to people.

“At the point in time of Sunday, Sept. 4, we were not yet aware that Damien was deceased. We put the information out that we were looking for two individuals. We know now that there was only one individual we were looking for,” Blackmore said after the presentation.

“But we have to look at risk. When we receive that information, we assess it to determine if it was credible. The information we had at that time was deemed credible and we had to look at the risk to individuals knowing there was a large event happening in Regina with the (CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders) game. We felt it was important we got that information out to individuals as quickly as possible that (the brothers) could have been in Regina.”

The timeline ended Sept. 7, when Sanderson was spotted in a stolen vehicle near Rosthern. After he was forced off the road and arrested, he went into “medical distress” and subsequently died.

“At this time, there is no evidence to support the involvement of any other suspects relating to the tragedy which occurred in September 2022,” Graham said.

“The Saskatchewan RCMP remains committed to investigating all aspects of this matter, including any new information or rumours. Any piece of information will be thoroughly investigated.”

Following the presentation, Blackmore was asked why officers couldn’t get to Sanderson faster than they did as he continued to commit his crimes. She replied it was hard to locate him because of how quickly he was moving.

“As you saw in the presentation, his attacks were unpredictable,” Blackmore said. “As fast as information was coming about a vehicle he was in, he was abandoning that vehicle, moving on foot and stealing other vehicles. It was a very rapidly unfolding and chaotic situation.”

Information made available during Thursday’s presentation can be seen here.