A man suspected of killing a person in Saskatchewan and then shooting an RCMP officer in B.C. is dead, according to RCMP.
Sheldon Kyle Thunderblanket was found dead east of Revelstoke, B.C., on Wednesday morning, according to information from RCMP and the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. The Indepedent Investigations Office is looking into the death, and the B.C. coroner's service is still investigating the cause of death.
The 40-year-old was wanted on first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, mischief, assault and breach of undertaking charges. He was believed to have been involved in a murder on the Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan on Monday and in the shooting of an RCMP officer in Golden, B.C. on Tuesday.
Mounties in Saskatchewan said police were called to a residence on Little Pine just before midnight Monday after a report of a shooting. Two adults were found injured in the residence when police arrived. One, Thunderblanket’s ex-girlfriend Tami Frank, was pronounced dead at the scene and the other, Frank’s sister Lacey, was taken to hospital with what RCMP described as serious injuries.
A warrant was issued for Thunderblanket on Tuesday, and he was allegedly involved in a confrontation with B.C. Mounties Tuesday afternoon during a traffic stop in Golden, B.C.
Police stopped a vehicle in connection with a possible theft near the weigh scales west of town.
The suspect opened fire on an RCMP officer, hitting her in the arm, before making an escape. The officer, Const. Amber Brunner, suffered a non-life-threatening injury and remains in hospital.
Police say he then stopped an SUV and forced the people inside to get out at gunpoint.
Few other details have been confirmed, but witnesses say a man with a rifle was shooting at RCMP officers on the highway.
The stolen SUV was located late Tuesday night outside Revelstoke.
The eastbound lanes of Highway 1 were closed from the weigh station to Revelstoke and were reopened to single-lane alternating traffic around 5 a.m. Wednesday.
The City of Revelstoke confirmed late Wednesday morning Thunderblanket was located by RCMP, but provided no details on whether he was alive or dead. Confirmation of his death came in the evening from police. Mounties said the delay in information was to allow officers to notify next of kin.
--- with files from CTV B.C.