Regina Leader-Post
A First Nation in southern Saskatchewan is in mourning and shock, still trying to come to terms with the homicides of four people in the community.
“Please pray for our nation and our families,” Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation Chief Scott Eashappie wrote on social media after two men and two women were found dead in a home on the First Nation, located approximately 100 kilometres east of Regina.
On Wednesday in an interview, Eashappie said the community would be on lockdown “until we have closure for all the families and every single person that has been involved in this tragedy.”
He requested privacy and “continued prayers and thoughts to our Nakoda Carry the Kettle people.”
Saskatchewan RCMP says its major crimes unit is investigating the case.
“We do believe the residence was targeted,” said Insp. Ashley St. Germaine, senior investigative officer with the Saskatchewan RCMP’s major crimes branch, at a media conference Wednesday afternoon.
“The investigation is, I mean, unfortunately it’s still in its infancy, given that it is a quadruple homicide. It is a complicated, complex investigation and it’s requiring a large amount of resources to (move) forward. We are working towards identifying suspects that we will be able to hopefully charge in the future.”
She did not provide any details about what caused the death of the victims, whose names were not released.
Officers with the File Hills Police Service were called to a home on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation, Mounties said Tuesday morning in an initial news release. At that time, the investigation determined the four deaths to be suspicious, but police did not provide details about a possible suspect.
Four hours later, RCMP said they received reports about a man pointing a gun at people on Zagime Anishinabek, formerly known as the Sakimay First Nation, approximately 100 kilometres further east. The man identified as a suspect in that incident — Keagan Panipekeesick, 29 — was arrested hours after that by Regina police in the Mathieu Crescent area.
On Wednesday, RCMP said Panipekeesick had been charged with one count of pointing a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm contrary to order.
Two other people were taken into custody at the Mathieu Crescent-area residence and RCMP continue to investigate if or how they may be involved, St. Germaine said.
“At this time, investigators are examining into whether the firearm-pointing incident and the homicides are connected,” RCMP said. “We are unable to confirm a link at this time.”
When asked if it was possible that whoever is responsible for the homicides is still at large, St. Germaine said: “At this point in time, we don’t have information to confirm that they’re still at large.”
RCMP and the provincial coroner continue to work to formally identify the victims, update their families and provide supports.
An emergency alert — the kind that would be sent to cellphones — was not issued, St. Germaine said.
“We know when tragedies such as these homicides occur, there is a lot of fear and alarm felt in the communities. We want to assure residents that at this time, we do not believe there’s an elevated risk to public safety in relation to these incidents,” she said.
“Throughout (Tuesday), RCMP investigators and emergency alert issuers continually discussed if there was a need to issue a dangerous person alert. We considered all of the information as it was received and decided whether to issue an alert considering the information that we knew at that time.”
A belief about the residence where the victims were found being targeted “was a factor” in deciding not to issue an alert, St. Germaine said.
She told reporters that multiple RCMP units were working together on the investigation. Investigators remain on scene in multiple areas in relation to both the homicides and the firearms incident, she said.
She noted that police have gone through the “areas that are of interest” in the investigation and have determined there are “no outstanding injured people” relating to either the homicide investigation or the firearms incident investigation.
She asked anyone with information about the homicides or the firearm incident to call police.
Communities near and far have expressed condolences over the homicides.
“When one of our Nations are suffering, we are all impacted, and we pull together to do what is necessary to help carry the sorrow as well as the pathway to solutions. What affects one, either affects or can potentially affect each of us,” Cowessess First Nation Chief Erica Beaudin said in a letter posted to Facebook.
A portion of Cowessess, one of the closest communities to Carry the Kettle, had been cordoned off by police, Beaudin added.
As more news comes out about those killed, Beaudin wanted to express her sadness to those feeling the loss.
“It affects all of us. We’re all interconnected, and Cowessess First Nation is no different. We have many of our members who have relations that were either killed or harmed in during the tragedy at Carry the Kettle.”
- With files from Brandon Harder, Alec Salloum and Nykole King
