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
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.
To read the full story visit: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/you-brave-old-man-the-veteran-hero-of-saskatchewan-stabbing-massacre by Tristin Hopper