Manitoba RCMP welcome tips on manhunt suspect, but social media can lead to false info – Winnipeg

As the search for a suspect in a mass slaughter continues across the prairies, Manitoba RCMP say people in the province should remain alert, but not overly cautious, as all information suggests Myles Sanderson has not left Saskatchewan.

Residents of Manitoba and Alberta also received multiple emergency alerts over the weekend after a series of deadly stabbings in Saskatchewan as police searched for Sanderson and his brother, Damien, who was found dead Monday near one of the crime scenes.

“We don’t want to overstate the potential dangers, but at the same time, we want people to keep in mind that at this time a suspect is still outstanding, we still believe he’s in Saskatchewan until intelligence suggests otherwise. ,” said RCMP Sgt. Paul Manager.

“If we start getting information that he’s in Manitoba, we’ll provide those updates and maybe try to narrow down the location.

“But at this point, it’s just for safety that we stay vigilant. If you’re out on the highways, don’t even stop to hitchhike. Call those places inside. Our officers may want to go check if the descriptions match our suspect.”

Manaigre said there has been a lot of information circulating on social media during the course of the hunt, and while tips from the public in a situation like this are welcome and encouraged, social posts have the potential to spread misinformation — whether it’s intentional or not.

“(Facebook and Twitter) can be great tools for providing information. But at the same time, they can also be negative in the sense that they spread false rumours,” he said.

“I believe Saturday night or Sunday night, we were getting information that their suspects might be in Dauphin and the Grandview/Gilbert Plains area. So the officers had to, you know, follow those leads. And we have confirmed that they were fake.

“You have to be careful with rumours…. You want advice, but hopefully you want advice that is reliable. But as I say, we will act on any information we receive and try and, say, confirm or disprove the information that comes in.”

Christopher Schneider, an associate professor of sociology at Brandon University, says that while getting information from police about dangerous criminals is a good thing, there can be a downside when it’s done through social media.

“We know there is a lot of information, including misinformation, that can easily circulate on social media and that can be problematic,” Schneider said.

“So should the police use social media? Absolutely. But it’s complicated because it’s user-generated and interactive.”

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