Earl Burns

by **Luxray** Wed 07 Sep 2022, 4:31 pm

'You brave old man': The veteran hero of Saskatchewan stabbing massacre

Earl Burns — a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces — was among the 10 killed when a pair of attackers began entering homes on the James Smith Cree Nation

Tristin Hopper
Publishing date: Sep 06, 2022

As the James Smith Cree Nation processes the fallout from Canada’s worst-ever mass stabbing, reports are emerging of the community members who fought back or died trying to save others.

Gloria Burns worked in crisis response on the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, and was responding to a call for help when she was killed in the attack. “She died helping people. And we have to pick up that torch and carry it,” her brother, Darryl Burns, told Postmedia’s Zak Vescera.

Earl Burns — a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces — was also among the 10 killed just before dawn on Sunday when a pair of attackers began entering homes on the James Smith Cree Nation and stabbing those inside.

Deborah McLean, Earl’s sister and a James Smith Cree Nation headwoman, told PA Now on Tuesday that her brother died protecting his family from the knife-wielding attackers. “My brother Earl Burns was a true hero. He fought til the death to protect his family,” she wrote in a message.

“He was a proud veteran for the Canadian army, and attended almost every powwow in the Indian territories. He was loyal, a good provider and a very proud Moosom.”

The Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans Association publicly announced Burns’ death on Sunday evening. “The SFNVA is sending out our most sincere condolences to the Burns Family on the loss of our Veteran (the) late Earl Burns,” wrote the organization alongside a photo of Burns in beret and service medals kneeling at the grave of a fellow veteran last Remembrance Day.

Burns served with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, a Canadian Army regiment headquartered in Western Canada.

Throughout Sunday and Monday, members of Burns’ family were lionizing the father and grandfather as “our hero.”

One family member posted a Facebook photo of a young Burns in his Canadian Army beret with the caption “thanks for saving me and my cousin … you brave old man you will always be remembered.” A Sunday post by Burns’ son, Earl Jr. read only, “my heart is broken so bad I still needed you.”

Another close relative posted a photo of Burns saluting with fellow First Nations veterans at the Beardys and Okemasis Pow-wow, the most recent of which was held less than a week before the massacre.

Investigators are still piecing together what brought the massacre to an end, but both assailants appear to have ceased their attacks only after they had themselves sustained injuries.

The body of Damien Sanderson, one of the alleged assailants, was found in tall grass only steps away from one of the homes targeted in the attack. RCMP said that Sanderson was suffering from visible wounds that are “not believed to have been self-inflicted.”

While fellow suspect Myles Sanderson is still believed to be alive, it’s believed that he too may have sustained a knife wound.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said Monday there was a “possibility” that Myles was injured and may seek medical attention.

The report appears to be consistent with a witness account from a nearby resident, Leona Lees, who encountered an injured man on her front lawn on Sunday morning.

After pulling up in a vehicle matching the description of one driven by the alleged attackers, the man said “I need somebody to take me to the hospital. My mouth has been hurt — I’ve been stabbed.” When Lees and her mother asked to get a closer look at the wound, according to CBC, the man fled.

National Post