Sourcing puts AP out front on death of Canada stabbings suspect
Family members of victims in a series of stabbings in and around the James Smith Cree Nation reserve in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, hug following a news conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Sept. 7, 2022. Myles Sanderson, 32, and his brother Damien, 30, were accused of killing 10 people and wounding 18 in a string of attacks across the Indigenous reserve and in the nearby town of Weldon. Damien was found dead Sept. 5, and Myles reportedly died after his arrest Sept. 7. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)
By Rob Gillies
Well-sourced Canada Bureau Chief Robert Gillies put AP out front as the first international news organization to report the death of the second suspect in Canada’s deadly stabbing rampage in and around a Saskacthewan Indigenous reserve. Within minutes of the first report of the suspect’s arrest, Gillies heard from a source that the man had died in police custody of a self-inflicted wound.
Police and investigators gather at the scene near the vehicle, left, forced off the road while being driven by a stabbing suspect who was arrested in Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Sept. 7, 2022. Myles Sanderson, the second suspect in the stabbing deaths of 10 people in Saskatchewan, went into medical distress after the arrest and died, police said. – Heywood Yu / The Canadian Press via AP
Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore speaks beside images of stabbing suspects Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson during a news conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, Sept. 4, 2022. Police said the pair allegedly stabbed and killed 10 people in various locations between the James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, that morning and were presently at large. – Michael Bell / The Canadian Press via AP
Mark Arcand, right, whose half sister Bonnie Burns was killed in a series of stabbings three days earlier, speaks at a news conference with family in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Sept. 7, 2022. Myles Sanderson, 32, and his brother Damien, 30, were suspected of killing 10 people and wounding 18 in a string of attacks across an Indigenous reserve and in the nearby town of Weldon. Damien was found dead Sept. 5, and Myles reportedly died after his arrest Sept. 7. – AP Photo / Robert Bumsted
A Canadian news outlet tweeted the news about a minute before AP’s alert, but Gillies was ahead of major Canadian news organizations. Many outlets cited AP, and even The Canadian Press reached out to ask who AP’s source was, as journalists scrambled to confirm the highly competitive story. Many had to wait for a news conference later by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who didn’t offer detail, only announcing an investigation to determine the cause of death.
New York’s Robert Bumsted contributed visuals — supplemented by photos from CP — as well as additional reporting from Saskatchewan.
