Myles Sanderson was violent on James Smith Cree Nation days before stabbing massacre began: RCMP
Myles's brother Damien was one of the first people killed in bloody attacks
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Brothers Myles and Damien Sanderson were spotted "guzzling booze" and "pumping themselves up" just before the deadly stabbing attacks last year on James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Weldon, Sask., according to RCMP.
Damien also told a woman before the massacre that the siblings had a "mission to do," RCMP said Thursday as police presented more information about what happened before and during the killings.
Not long after that conversation, Damien became Myles's first homicide victim.
Myles Sanderson, 32, killed 11 people and injured 17 others in the early morning hours of Sept. 4, 2022. He died shortly after being arrested by police following a four-day manhunt.
Police said the complex investigation into the worst mass stabbing in Canadian history involved 42 different crime scenes and more than 200 witness interviews.
Officers learned that Myles terrorized people for more than an hour, brutally killing, maiming and traumatizing dozens. He did not spare youth or the elderly from his violence.
At the time of the attacks, Myles was considered to be "unlawfully at large." Police have traced Myles's violent acts on James Smith Cree Nation to Sept. 1 — three days before the massacre — when he arrived to sell cocaine.
Police say Myles violently assaulted the woman he had been travelling with the next day.
After the woman fled the abuse, Myles met up with his brother Damien. Police say the brothers spent their time before the attacks selling drugs, beating up community members and drinking.
'A mission to do'
Around 5 p.m. CST on Sept. 3, the brothers showed up at home on the First Nation, police said. Myles stated he was there for "one body: Gregory Burns," according to witnesses. Someone inside the home invited Gregory over, and when he arrived Myles and Damien assaulted him.
Gregory "Jonesy" Burns was later killed in the massacre.
After the assault, Damien and Myles split up. Damien went to a bar in a nearby town and told a woman that he and Myles had "a mission to do," and that people would hear all about it within the next few hours, police said.
Shortly before midnight, Damien met up with his brother. They assaulted another man, stole a Dodge caravan and made their last known drug sale in the community around 4 a.m. CST, police said. None of these incidents were reported to the police.
The brothers were seen 45 minutes later "guzzling booze" and "pumping themselves up for something."
Chaos followed.
The brothers forcibly entered a house looking for a woman around 5:30 a.m. CST. Damien told a child in the home that this "would be the last time they would see him," according to police.
Myles turns on Damien
The brothers then forced their way into another home, where Myles attacked a man with scissors. Then Damien intervened, stepping between his brother and the injured man, police said.
Police said Damien also told the injured man to call the police. As the brothers fled the home, Myles grabbed a knife.
They got back in the van. Police have determined that Myles attacked his brother during an argument.
Police believe Damien was injured, but escaped the van and ran into some nearby bushes. That's where his body was later found by police.
Myles bragged about killings
Myles attacked dozens more people after killing his brother. He bragged about the violence throughout the rampage, police said.
Witnesses recall Myles showing up at homes, bloody and brandishing a knife. He repeatedly mentioned the "bodies" he had so far, asking one man, "Want to know how many bodies I got tonight?"
Myles unleashed his terror relatively quickly, moving on foot and with stolen vehicles. He killed and injured people almost everywhere he went.
Police said Myles snuck into Gregory Burns's home through a window, attacking Gregory, his mom Bonnie and two male youths. Gregory, a 28-year-old father, died outside as Myles fled on foot.
Myles returned to the scene not long after to kill Bonnie and Lydia Gloria Burns — a community member who Bonnie had called for help.
Bonnie has been described by her loved ones as a caring, nurturing mother who always put other people before her. Gloria worked at the James Smith Cree Nation health clinic, and her brothers have described her as friendly, kind and selfless.
Police learned that Myles also attacked 23-year-old Thomas Burns — described as a happy, outgoing young man with a young son — in a different home.
When Thomas tried to escape, Myles chased him down, attacking him again with his vehicle and then his knife.
Shortly after 7 a.m. CST, Myles killed his final victim, an elderly man who was on on his porch at his home in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask.
The man Myles attacked with scissors did call the police at 5:40 a.m. CST. Mounties say their officers drove 178 km/hr to get to the community, arriving around 6:18 a.m. CST.
Myles was still terrorizing people in the community as police attended to the first crime scenes.
"His attacks were unpredictable. As fast as information was coming in about a vehicle he was in — he was abandoning that vehicle," said Saskatchewan RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore when asked how Myles continued to elude police in the small community.
"It was a very rapidly unfolding, very dynamic and chaotic situation."
Family members in mourning
Before the timeline details were made public, the RCMP met with the families of the people who were killed and the survivors.
Brian "Buggy" Burns lost his wife Bonnie and his son Gregory in the attacks. His surviving sons who were in the home that night were traumatized. Before he took part in the briefing, he sought comfort from his loved ones.
"I went and visited them at the church, Bonnie and Gregory … asked them to watch over me," Burns said.
He said he told them, "I wish I was home to protect you guys."
Darryl Burns lost his sister in the attacks. She was the woman who died while trying to help Buggy's wife Bonnie, who had called for help.
"I know in my heart that she is a hero. She did what she needed to do that day. It's very tough losing her, because in our family she was like the mother to all of us — the boys," Darryl said.
"She was our rock. Everybody leaned on her."
Darryl said he's been trying to make sense of what happened. He initially didn't understand how Myles enacted so much violence before he was stopped. The timeline has offered some clarity, helping him realize the chaos and confusion in the community.
Darryl knows that because Myles is dead, some of his questions will never be answered. But he wants to make sure his sister's death means something.
"I hope her death and everyone else's in this community, in some way, impacts change."
Brian "Buggy Burns" said the timeline provided more clarity about how the attacks happened, but he is still searching for answers.
He wants to know why Myles committed the massacre. He also wants to know if it could have been prevented.
In a news release, RCMP said their presentation on the timeline omitted certain information so as to not interfere with the upcoming Saskatchewan Coroners Service inquests related to the attacks.
Police said officers will not discuss the police response, information related to Myles's arrest and death, or specific details about what happened to the victims during the attacks. They said none of the violent incidents that involved the Sanderson brothers, in the days leading up to the attacks, were reported to police.
RCMP also did not include information about how and why Sanderson was "unlawfully at large" during the time of the attacks.
Saskatchewan's Coroners Service has said that the two inquests related to the rampage are tentatively scheduled to start in early January 2024.
There is also an independent investigation underway by the Saskatoon Police Service and the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team.
Support is available for anyone affected. You can talk to a mental health professional via Wellness Together Canada by calling 1-866-585-0445 or text WELLNESS to 686868 for youth or 741741 for adults. It is free and confidential.
The Hope for Wellness hotline offers immediate help to Indigenous people across Canada. Mental health counselling and crisis support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
with files from Sam Samson