Ten dead, at least 15 hurt in Saskatchewan stabbings -Canadian police

The stabbings across 13 crime scenes were among the deadliest mass killings in modern Canadian history and certain to reverberate throughout the country, which is unaccustomed to bouts of mass violence more commonly seen in the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a message posted on Twitter that the attacks were " horrific and heartbreaking."

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 km (200 miles) south of the attacks in the James Smith Cree Nation and the village of Weldon, police said.

Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told a news conference that establishing motive was very difficult at this point.

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

James Smith Cree Nation is an indigenous community with a population of about 3,400 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 first stabbings were reported at 5:40 a.m. (1140 GMT) and within three hours police issued a province-wide dangerous person 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.

A police alert issued shortly after midday said they may be in Regina, one of the province's largest cities, where a large police presence was already mobilized because of a Canadian football game at Mosaic Stadium near the centre of town.