The child who police believe is responsible for the death of a six-year-old boy in Saskatchewan has been placed under the custody of the province’s Ministry of Social Services and will receive treatment, officials said Tuesday.

The child, who is under the age of 12, is too young to be charged under Canada’s Criminal Code and cannot be named.

Social Services spokesperson Andrea Brittin said he will be thoroughly assessed to ensure that “the community is safe and his needs are being met.”

"He is a child in need of protection and it is our responsibility to ensure he receives the treatment that he requires," she said.

"Those treatment needs are going to change as he grows older."

Six-year-old Lee Bonneau died in hospital of serious head injuries on Aug. 21, after he was found in a wooded area on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation, located about 150 kilometres east of Regina.

He had gone missing two hours earlier, and was last seen playing outside a community centre with some dogs while his foster mother was playing bingo inside.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Larry Brost said the child believed to be responsible for Lee’s death was known to police and social services, but the two boys did not know each other.

Brost also said a “weapon of opportunity” was used in the killing, but was unable to say exactly what happened. There were no witnesses to the incident.

“We may never find that answer," he said.

Lee Bonneau was not a member of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation. His foster home was just off the reserve. That foster family is now under investigation, officials said.

Saskatchewan’s Social Services Minister, June Draude, said she has asked the province’s children’s advocate, Bob Pringle, to review the case.

“It’s not good enough to keep doing what we’ve always done if we aren’t getting all the outcomes we need,” Draude told reporters.

“We lost not just one child – we lost two. We lost individuals who could be part of our society right now. What can we do that’s better? I’m going to be pushing with everything I’ve got to make sure that we can say that as a province, we’re opening doors.”

With reports from CTV Regina’s Dale Hunter and Morgan Campbell and files from The Canadian Press