Canada mass stabbings: Saskatchewan killings suspect Myles Sanderson dies following arrest

Police say the second suspect in a stabbing spree that killed ten and wounded a further 18 people in western Canada, has died following his capture.

Officers forced the stolen car Myles Sanderson, 32, was driving off a highway, in Saskatchewan on Wednesday.

Police said he died in custody after going into medical distress, despite CPR being administered before he was taken to hospital. No official cause of death was given.

The other suspect, Myles' 30-year-old brother, Damien Sanderson, was found dead on Monday.

His body was discovered near the scene of the bloody knife attacks inside and around the James Smith Cree First Nation reserve - an indigenous community where both men were residents - and the nearby village of Weldon.

Police say they are investigating whether Myles Sanderson killed his brother.

“This evening our province is breathing a collective sigh of relief,” Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Saskatchewan, told a news conference as the manhunt came to an end.

An independent investigation by members of Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team has been launched at the site to review Myles Sanderson's death and the conduct of police who attended.

Federal public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, also stressed that the events would be investigated.

Ms Blackmore said that with both men dead, authorities will find it difficult to determine what set off the rampage.

“Now that Myles is deceased we may never have an understanding of that motivation,” she said.

She added she hoped the families of the victims will find "closure" and "rest easy knowing that Myles Sanderson is no longer a threat to them".

The stabbings have raised questions around why Myles Sanderson - a convicted criminal with 59 convictions - was allowed back out on the streets.

He had been released from prison by a parole board in February, while serving a sentence of more than four years on charges that included assault and robbery.

However, he had been wanted by police since May, when he stopped meeting his assigned caseworker and was classified as "unlawfully at large".

The Saskatchewan Coroner’s Service said nine of those killed were from the James Smith Cree Nation.

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According to court papers, Myles Sanderson had previously stabbed two of the victims in Sunday's rampage - his in-laws, Earl Burns, 66, and Joyce Burns - seven years earlier.

Mr Burns died in this week's attack, and Mrs Burns was among the wounded.

The other victims included: Thomas Burns, 23; Carol Burns, 46; Gregory Burns, 28; Lydia Gloria Burns, 61; Bonnie Burns, 48; Lana Head, 49; Christian Head, 54; and Robert Sanderson, 49.

Another victim, 78-year-old Wesley Patterson, was from the village of Weldon.

Authorities would not confirmed Canadian media reports that many of the victims were related.