A manhunt was extended Tuesday for a third day to search for a suspect charged with multiple fatal stabbings in a remote Canadian Indigenous community and a nearby town, with no known motive for the killing yet.

Ten people were killed and 18 wounded in the attack on the Indigenous community of the James Smith Cree Nation and the town of Weldon, Saskatchewan on Sunday.

An intense hunt across the vast prairie region for two brothers believed responsible – Myles and Damien Sanderson, aged 30 and 31 respectively – narrowed after the older sibling was found dead on Monday.

Damien Sanderson’s mutilated body was found in the James Smith Cree Nation “outdoors in a heavily vegetated area near an examined house,” Deputy Police Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said at a news conference late Monday.

The younger Sanderson – who was also wanted for a parole violation in May after serving part of a sentence for assault and robbery – is suspected of killing his brother, she said. He remains at large and is believed to be armed and dangerous.

“He could be injured and seeking medical attention,” Blackmore added.

According to Evan Bray, police chief of the provincial capital Regina, Myles Sanderson could be hiding in town – 300 kilometers from the scene of the attack – after escaping in a vehicle.

Authorities across Saskatchewan and two neighboring provinces, as well as Canada-US border officials, remain on high alert for the suspect, who has a history of explosive violence that has resulted in nearly 60 prior criminal convictions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the attacks shocking and heartbreaking and lamented that “tragedies like these have become all too commonplace”.

Since 2017, Canada has witnessed a gunman disguised as a police officer kill 22 people in Nova Scotia, another killed six worshipers at a Quebec City mosque and a van driver killed 11 pedestrians in Toronto.

In the James Smith Cree Nation and near Weldon, residents described overwhelming grief and fear.

“Both communities are destroyed. All lives are destroyed,” Ruby Works told public broadcaster CBC.

She named her friend and Weldon neighbor Wes Petterson, a 77-year-old widower, as one of those killed.

“If someone needed help, he helped. He was a kind hearted man,” Works said. “He did not deserve that.”

Residents in the small town are scared, she added, with many remaining confined indoors.

The James Smith Cree Nation has asked for privacy during their mourning.

“My sister was lying in her driveway with her friend and a little boy. They are all dead. They were massacred,” Ivor Burns told local broadcasters. His sister Gloria Burns, 62, was an addiction counselor.

Along with several Indigenous leaders, he suggested that rampant drug and alcohol abuse had been a factor in a trend toward violent incidents in the area.

Gloria Burns’ son Dillon wrote on social media that his mother died “protecting a young man while he was being attacked,” adding that “she would have done the same for any of us… (even) him.” Man who did it took her life.”

In an online tribute, Lana Head, a 49-year-old mother of two who worked as a security guard at a local casino, was remembered as a “sweet and caring” person with an infectious smile.

Police believe some of the victims were targeted and others were attacked indiscriminately.

According to officials, 18 remain in hospital, including four in critical condition.