The stabbings on Sunday in the sparsely populated area were certain to reverberate throughout Canada, which is unaccustomed to bouts of mass violence more commonly seen across the southern border in the United States.

“The attacks in Saskatchewan today are horrific and heartbreaking. I’m thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a message posted on Twitter.

Police named the two suspects as Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, 30, providing photos and descriptions but no further details about their motive or the victims.

The two were seen travelling in a black Nissan Rogue and spotted in the city of Regina, about 320 kilometres south of the attacks in the James Smith Cree Nation and the village of Weldon, police said.

“It appears that some of the victims may have been targeted, and some may be random. So to speak to a motive would be extremely difficult at this point in time,” Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told a news conference.

There may be additional injured victims who transported themselves to various hospitals, police said.

James Smith Cree Nation is indigenous community with a population of about 3400 people largely engaged in farming, hunting and fishing. Weldon is a village of some 200 people.

The nation’s elected elders declared a state of emergency “in response to the numerous murders and assaults on members of the James Smith Cree Nation,” and established two emergency operations centres, the nation said in a statement.

The stabbings were reported early in the morning, and police issued a province-wide dangerous persons alert. By the afternoon, similar alerts were also issued in Saskatchewan’s neighbouring provinces Alberta and Manitoba.

Police bulletins urged people to report any suspicious people and to take precautions including sheltering in place, while warning against picking up hitchhikers or approaching suspicious people.

-AAP