Canadian authorities warned people in the James Smith Cree Nation to shelter in place on Tuesday after reports of a possible sighting of the suspect who killed 10 people in a stabbing spree that roiled a country where mass violence is rare.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Saskatchewan said it was responding to the reports in an emergency alert that warned residents to seek immediate shelter in a secure location.
Police surrounded a home on the indigenous reserve with guns drawn, and authorities were barricading roads heading into the area, The Associated Press reported.
The emergency alert came as an extensive manhunt entered its third day, with hundreds of officers searching for the surviving suspect in multiple stabbings on Sunday.
Myles Sanderson, 30, remained on the loose and possibly injured. Police on Monday found his brother Damien Sanderson, 31, dead in a grassy area of the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.
The brothers are suspected of killing 10 people and wounding 18 more in a stabbing rampage on Sunday that devastated the indigenous community of 3,400 people in one of the deadliest attacks in Canada's modern history.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged residents to heed local authorities.
"We need to make sure that everyone stays safe," he said during an event in Vancouver. "All Canadians stand with the people of Saskatchewan at this time."
Police said some of the victims appeared to have been targeted, while others were apparently random.
At least 10 dead, 15 wounded in Canada stabbing rampage
Some First Nation leaders have linked the killings to drug use but police have not identified drugs or alcohol as a factor.
The stabbings have caused "immeasurable stress and panic" in the community, leaders from a group of 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan said in a statement on Monday, pleading for members of the public to come forward with any relevant information.
Ivor Wayne Burns, a resident of the James Smith Cree Nation, said the Sanderson brothers belonged to First Nations communities and were under the influence of drugs at the time of the crimes.
Myles Sanderson was considered armed and dangerous, said Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Sanderson has been wanted since May, when he stopped meeting his parole officer after serving a sentence for assault, robbery, mischief and uttering threats, CBC News reported.
Over two decades, the suspect had 59 convictions for crimes, CBC reported, citing Parole Board of Canada documents.
Police said they were investigating whether Sanderson may have also killed his brother, and could have sustained injuries that might cause him to seek medical attention.
There were few details about the victims, which included men and women spanning a wide range of ages.
People from the area said a mother of two, a 77-year-old widower and a first responder were among the victims.
Since Sunday's violence, at least two shootings were reported in Saskatchewan, neither believed to be connected to the stabbings.
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