Police are hunting for two assailants after a series of knife attacks at two communities in central Canada.
According to reports, the knife attacks in James Smith Cree Nation, and a village in Saskatchewan, left at least ten dead and 15 others injured.
The stabbings across 13 crime scenes were among the deadliest mass killings in modern Canadian history.
It is certain to reverberate throughout the country, which is unaccustomed to bouts of mass violence more commonly seen in the United States.
Police responding to emergency calls on Sunday found 10 people dead in the Indigenous community of James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby town of Weldon in Saskatchewan province, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Sunday.
“Today… Saskatchewan RCMP Divisional Operational Communications Center, or our DOCC, received a call reporting a stabbing on the James Smith Cree Nation,” said Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, the Commanding Officer of Saskatchewan RCMP.
The police chief added, “In the following minutes, our DOCC received multiple calls reporting additional stabbings at different locations in the community. The suspects named were Damien Sanderson and Miles Sanderson.”
Ms Blackmore added that police were working at 13 crime scenes and that there might be more victims.
They provided photos and descriptions of the two suspects but no further details about their motive or the victims.
“It is horrific what has happened in our province today,” Blackmore said. “It appears that some of the victims may have been targeted, and some may be random. So to speak to a motive would be extremely difficult at this point in time.”
A statement by Indigenous leaders indicated the attacks may have been drug related.
“This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities,” said Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations. The group represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan.
“It’s It’s sick how jail time, drugs and alcohol can destroy many lives,” Michael Brett Burns told the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
Officials said the two men, in their early 30s, were last seen travelling in a black Nissan Rogue and spotted in the provincial capital of Regina, about 320km (200 miles) south of where the attacks took place.
Blackmore said it was unknown where the suspects might be headed or if they had changed vehicles. Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said late Sunday they still believe the suspects are in Regina.
Police in Saskatchewan issued a province-wide dangerous persons alert, with authorities in neighbouring Alberta and Manitoba – a vast region nearly half the size of Europe – later following suit.
The James Smith Cree Nation, with a population of about 3,000, declared a local state of emergency.
The James Smith Cree Nation has declared a state of emergency until September 30 “in response to the numerous murders and assaults” and has set up two emergency operations centres.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority said multiple patients were being treated at several sites.
The Royal University Hospital, Saskatchewan’s main trauma centre, raised its emergency preparedness level to “code orange” on Sunday, anticipating more patients.
The code was dropped after police said it was less likely for multiple patients to arrive all at once.
“As of late this afternoon, the Code Orange was declared over, as the risk of a high influx of patient transfers due to this situation is no longer prominent,” the health authority said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the killings, saying he was “Two Suspects Wanted For Multiple Knife Attacks That Claimed Ten Lives In Canadaand mourned with the communities and families affected.