A RCMP road blockade is shown at Big Island Lake Cree Nation, 392 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, on Dec. 30, 2025.TIMOTHY MATWEY/The Canadian Press
A pair of dangerous and armed suspects remain at large as police in Saskatchewan continue to gather evidence after one man was shot dead and three people were seriously injured on Big Island Lake Cree Nation earlier this week.
Neil Wahpistikwan, 31, was killed in the pre-dawn shooting on Tuesday. The names of the other victims haven’t been released.
For more than three days, the rural community of about 1,250 has been “in a constant state of panic,” the Cree Nation’s band manager Geoffrey Sandfly told The Globe and Mail. Access in and out of the area, around 400 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon and near Alberta, has been restricted by security and patrol officers since the attack.
In a statement Friday, RCMP said they do not have any new information about the two suspects or their whereabouts. Police are gathering and reviewing evidence, including surveillance videos. They don’t know whether the shooting was random or targeted.
Investigators previously said the suspects were both men, who they believed to be armed with at least one gun, last seen driving an all-terrain vehicle in the area.
RCMP still searching for suspects after Saskatchewan First Nation shooting leaves 1 dead, 3 injured
Cree leaders have provided officers with live-video footage from 218 cameras, “but it doesn’t seem like we’re getting any answers from any of that kind of evidence,” Mr. Sandfly said.
For the family of Mr. Wahpistikwan it has been difficult to process the shock.
Many members of Big Island Lake, including Mr. Wahpistikwan’s family, had just returned home from a late-night round dance in nearby Loon Lake when the incident occurred shortly before 6 a.m.
Mr. Wahpistikwan’s uncle, Gary Wahpistikwan, said in an interview Friday that he can’t get the sound of gunshots out of his head.
“There were four or five of them. I remember them so clearly,” he said of the shots. “I was in bed when it happened, and I didn’t want to believe they were real. Next thing I know, I’m calling my brother about his son. And when he found Neil, he saw police doing CPR on him.”
RCMP search for two armed men after deadly shooting on Saskatchewan First Nation
Mr. Wahpistikwan’s father, Larry Wahpistikwan, said he keeps praying for more information.
“I still have no idea why or how exactly this happened and none of us know right now. My son was such a loving and great guy,” he said in a text message to The Globe.
“But I can say to you that I think these suspects who did this are probably from our own area,” he added. “They are from here because we know they were on that ATV. Who else would come and go on a quad to do something like this?”
Police have not provided a description of the suspects, their clothes or their vehicles.
RCMP had issued a wide-scale emergency alert for more than 8½ hours on Tuesday, urging residents to find a safe location and to lock their doors in the nearly 200-kilometre region between Meadow Lake, Sask., and Bonnyville, Alta. Seven health care facilities nearby were also placed under lockdown and have since reopened.
On Friday, RCMP declined to disclose the status of the three victims who were sent to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after the shooting. Police also declined to say whether the victims were known to each other or the suspects.
Geoffrey Sandfly, band manager and security director at Big Island Lake Cree Nation, says his community of about 1,250 has been 'in a constant state of panic' since the shooting.Bill Graveland/The Canadian Press
In the absence of answers, Mr. Sandfly said rumours have been spreading in the small community. “Things have been very, very stressful,” he said.
Councillor Annabelle Sandfly agreed. The lockdown has taken a significant toll on the morale of residents, she said speaking from her band office on the reserve.
Governed as part of Treaty 6 territory, leaders of Big Island Lake have been outspoken for years about their struggle to deter drugs and gang-related activity.
“It wasn’t totally a surprise or unexpected that this happened. We have started to expect violence as a people that are battling these problems,” Ms. Sandfly said.
“But this shooting has left us all very scared now. We are all fearing what else could possibly happen.”