The man police say killed his sister and attacked several others with a knife on Hollow Water First Nation in Manitoba was out on bail.
Court records show Tyrone Simard, 26, was charged with assault with a weapon and mischief for alleged offences that happened June 8. He was also facing charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, and invitation to sexual touching from alleged incidents in 2017.
The records show a Winnipeg court granted his release June 12 on both matters with various conditions, including a curfew and an order not to use drugs or alcohol or to possess weapons.
He was also ordered not to contact four people.
Simard was asked whether he understood the conditions.
“Yes,” he told the court.
Records also show Simard pleaded guilty to two counts of assault, along with charges of mischief, in connection with offences in 2017.
RCMP have said Simard stabbed eight people Thursday at two homes on the First Nation northeast of Winnipeg.
His 18-year-old sister died and the others are in hospital.
Mounties said Simard fled in a stolen vehicle and died in a highway crash with an RCMP cruiser. The officer, who had been on her way to the attack scene, is also in hospital and is expected to recover.
Meanwhile, messages of condolences and support have poured in for the First Nation, including from James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, where there was a mass stabbing exactly three years earlier. Eleven people were killed and 17 injured.
“From our nation to theirs, we send strength, compassion and the reminder that they are not alone,” the James Smith First Nation said Thursday in a statement posted to social media.
“We walk together in spirit.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew visited Hollow Water on Thursday night, said his office.
The Anishinaabe community of about 1,000 people sits on the east shore of Lake Winnipeg.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak offered prayers and condolences in a statement Friday.
“This tragedy is a sad reminder of the urgent need for action to ensure safety and security for First Nations citizens, for community-based, compassionate approaches that respond to our unique needs,” she said.
