Authorities report that one individual has died and at least six others sustained injuries in a mass stabbing incident that occurred in a remote indigenous community in Canada.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed that the suspect also died during the attack, which took place on Thursday within a First Nations community in Manitoba province.
Police have described the incident as a “mass casualty” event, unfolding in Hollow Water First Nation, situated approximately 200km (124 miles) northeast of Winnipeg.
Shared Health, the provincial health authority, informed the BBC that eight individuals were transported to local hospitals via air or ambulance, arriving with injuries of varying severity, according to a spokesman.
Stars air ambulance verified its response to an emergency on the Hollow Water First Nation Thursday morning, airlifting two patients to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.
Details surrounding the incident remain limited at this time. The RCMP is scheduled to hold a press conference at 14:00 local time (19:00 GMT).
Earlier on Thursday, Manitoba RCMP issued a warning to Hollow Water First Nation residents, advising them to anticipate a significant police presence in the community throughout the day.
Authorities have stated that there is currently no ongoing risk to public safety.
“Our sincere condolences to everyone within the community of Hollow Water First Nation and to everyone who has been affected by this senseless act of violence,” the RCMP stated.
The RCMP’s major crimes unit will lead the investigation into the incident.
In a public letter, the Hollow River chief and council extended their condolences to those “affected by this tragedy.”
The Anishinaabe community has a population of just a few hundred residents.
According to CBC News, family members have identified Michael Raven as one of those injured in the attack.
His children reported that he was stabbed in the lung after an intruder broke into his home and attacked him while he was sleeping.
“The community is all shaken up from it. It is not something that happens in Hollow Water,” his daughter, Christy Williams, told CBC.
This attack coincides with the third anniversary of the mass stabbing in James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby village of Weldon, Saskatchewan, where 11 lives were lost and numerous individuals were injured.
The suspect in the prior stabbing died shortly after being apprehended by police following a three-day search.
Head coach Craig Bellamy feels Wales’ World Cup qualifying group remains wide open after his side overcame “crazy” preparation to beat Kazakhstan 1-0 in Astana to move to the summit of Group J.
Romana Didulo, who leads a cult inspired by US-based conspiracy theory QAnon, was arrested as she was on a livestream.
A man who worked for the US in Afghanistan and his son and daughter are stuck in bureaucratic limbo but hope to be reunited with family in Canada.
Some school districts in the Canadian province of Alberta have banned Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale due to sexual content.
The mission’s goal is to find water on the Moon, which could open the door for a sustained human presence there.