Mounties in Saskatchewan resume hunt for suspect in deadly shooting

PELICAN NARROWS — The hunt is back on for a suspect in a deadly shooting this week at a remote northern Saskatchewan First Nation, Mounties said Wednesday.

It began Monday after a shooting at a home in Pelican Narrows, 500 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

A 28-year-old woman died at the scene and a man was also taken to hospital with injuries.

Two suspects were initially arrested. One was released without charges soon after and, on Wednesday, police said the second person had been let go.

At the same time, they released video footage of who they believe to be the suspect. The video depicts a person dressed in black with a black head covering running down a road.

News that the shooter still on the loose is disheartening, said Justin Halcrow, the vice chief of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.

“It’s very troublesome for our community while they’re in a high state of high alert. They’re traumatized,” Halcrow said Wednesday at a virtual news conference.

Pelican Narrows, which is part of the First Nation, has been dealing with heightened violence for years. The shooting happened less than a month after two homicides in the small community.

Halcrow said it’s largely to do with gangs, addictions and mental health issues.

“We need immediate help,” added Chief Peter Beatty.

In late May, Pelican Narrows put up a security checkpoint on the road leading into the community. It’s also banned people from using all-terrain vehicles, directing retailers not to sell gas for such vehicles.

The First Nation has been calling for an Indigenous-led police service in northern Saskatchewan, along with additional Mounties and more funding for addictions treatment.

Beatty said leaders plan to be in Ottawa next week for a meeting with Mandy Gull-Masty, the Indigenous services minister.

“We need a solid commitment in terms of getting security into the community to make people feel relatively safe, and to at least alleviate the number of drugs and alcohol entering the community,” he said.

Mounties rescinded Monday’s shelter-in-place order for Pelican Narrows, saying they don’t believe there’s an imminent risk to public safety.

Insp. Ashley St. Germaine, acting officer in charge of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s major crimes branch, urged witnesses or those with information to come forward.

“We know the community of Pelican Narrows is on edge because of this shooting and other recent violent events,” St. Germaine said in a news release.

“Homicides are solved with the help of witnesses. We know there are people in the community who have information and have not shared it with police.”

The names of the two people shot have not been released.

Police said they continue to investigate but believe the gunplay followed an altercation at a home and that those involved knew each other.

RCMP have said violent crime in the Pelican Narrows area has increased 49 per cent over the past decade, driven by complex issues that include mental health and addiction.

The band office and local schools are closed for the rest of the week, Beatty said. The health centre is also being limited to those with serious medical conditions.

The Opposition NDP said Wednesday that Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government needs to take violence in northern regions seriously.

“I don’t think any government can wave a magic wand and make all the problems go away, but what they can do is take the things that are within their control and make sure they are providing those resources,” said Jordan McPhail, the NDP’s northern affairs critic.

Michael Weger, Saskatchewan’s community safety minister, visited Pelican Narrows over the weekend.

He said the province is working with the First Nation, noting Saskatchewan is providing $310 million to RCMP this year, including $26 million for First Nations policing.

“This year’s budget is supporting expansion of the First Nation Community Safety Officer program to more First Nations,” he said in a statement. One of the officers is located in Pelican Narrows, he added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2026.

— By Jeremy Simes in Regina