Nunavik stabbing survivors recover in Montreal

Eva Anautak and her 16-year-old son Pirti are pictured outside the Montreal University Health Centre where there were treated for stab wounds after a deadly June 10 attack. The mother and son have now been released from hospital and should return home to Akulivik within the week. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF A. QULLIALUK)

The two Nunavimmiut who survived a deadly June 10 attack in the community of Akulivik have now been discharged from a Montreal hospital.

Early June 10, investigators say 19-year-old Illutak Anautak went into his aunt Eva Anautak’s home, stabbing the women, her partner Eli Qinuajuaq and two of her children.

Qinuajuaq, 32 and Putulik Anautak, 12, died of their injuries. Illutak also stabbed and killed his uncle Lucassie Anautak, 36, that morning, and was on his way to enter another home when he was shot and killed by police.

Eva Anautak and her 16-year-old son Pirti survived and were flown to the Montreal University Health Centre where they’ve been in recovery ever since.

The 16-year-old was released from hospital June 26, while Anautak was discharged a few days later. Both mother and son remain in Montreal for follow-up care.

“I’m so glad he was with me,” Anautak said over the phone from her hospital room earlier this week.

Because her son is a minor, he could have been sent to Montreal Children’s Hospital but instead, doctors opted to keep the mother and son together.

Anautak suffered multiple stab wounds during the attack and was fitted with a tube in her lungs over her three-week recovery period.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said of the attack. “We were sleeping.”

Anautak’s nephew Illutak lived with her on and off, but not when he was drinking, she said—as relatives said he’d been doing that night.

“I remember a bit [from that night] but I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. “It’s hard…”

Anautak said her other three children have stayed with her sister in Akulivik while she recovers.

She missed the funeral for Qinuajuaq and her son Putulik, who were buried in Akulivik earlier this month.

While she said she is anxious to return to Akulivik, Anautak said she won’t move back into her old home—“it’s too hard.”

Instead, she plans to stay with her mother where she will receive regular support.

Quebec’s independent investigations bureau—le Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes—continues to lead the ongoing investigation into the shooting death of Illutak Anautak.