'It's a very difficult time for the community': La Loche mayor speaks after high school incident

The mayor of a northern Saskatchewan village says a student has been arrested after two people were stabbed at the high school in La Loche, leaving community members shaken and retraumatized.

Mayor Georgina Jolibois said a student and a staff member were attacked Thursday at the Dene High School.

The two victims were being treated and the suspect was in RCMP custody, she said.

"It's a very difficult time for the community and it has become rather quiet and reflective and trying to make sense of what has happened," Jolibois told The Canadian Press.

"My priority remains with the community, the safety of the students and of the educators."

In a letter to parents, the Northern Lights School Division said there had been an incident and two people were injured but did not provide further details.

It confirmed a suspect was in custody.

Jason Young, the division's director of education, said in the letter that RCMP would be commenting further. RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The school community is safe and there is no current threat to them," Young wrote. "Supports will be available to our school community and we will provide an update as we are able to."

The school was closed on Friday.

In 2016, four people were killed in a mass shooting in La Loche. The village is about 600 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

A 17-year-old student first killed two teen brothers in a home before going to the high school, where he killed a teacher and a teacher's aide and wounded seven others.

Jolibois said the Thursday stabbings brought back memories of the shooting.

"It's important to get that message out that the additional resources that were asked for in 2016 -- I still believe we're asking for additional resources," she said. "It would be really helpful to get the support of the federal and provincial governments."

She said the school needs a permanent RCMP member in the school, adding it's her understanding an officer had been in the building when the stabbings happened.

She said the school has also been short-staffed over the past year.

"This year has been a really difficult year for the school," Jolibois said.

A spokesperson for the Saskatchewan government said Government Relations Minister Don McMorris and Jim Lemaigre, the legislature member for the area, were to visit the community Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2023.