Winnipeg police shoot, kill suspect after officer stabbed in the throat

Manitoba’s police watchdog is investigating a deadly police shooting at Winnipeg’s Unicity Shopping Centre Sunday evening.

The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) told reporters one officer is recovering after he was stabbed in the throat, while the suspect had been shot by officers and later died of his injuries.

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The incident unfolded near a bus shack at the Unicity Shopping Centre.

Police said officers were in the area as part of the WPS retail theft initiative. Then, just after 5 p.m., an emergency transmission came into the police communication centre from a plain clothes unit at the mall.

They reported an officer had been stabbed in the throat and a male suspect had been shot.

"This transmission is one that we never, ever want to receive," said Acting Chief Art Stannard, speaking to reporters late Sunday evening.

Details about what led to the stabbing and the subsequent shooting are limited.

Police said they were dealing with the man by the shelter. During their interaction, police allege the suspect stabbed one of the officers in the throat with an edged weapon. The officers said they told the man to drop his weapon, and shortly after officers fired their weapons. The suspect was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.

The injured officer, a senior member of the WPS, was taken to hospital. Stannard said he visited the officer and his wife in hospital Sunday evening.

"His wife was there and just extremely emotional," recalled Stannard. "He's doing well, and they're treating him very well. I would say he's stable and most likely to be released."

Police said they have not yet identified the male suspect, and the investigation is still in its early stages.

Stannard said he is aware videos of the incident have been posted online, but cautioned they do not show the full interaction officers had with the suspect.

"I'm concerned that it only shows part of the interaction," said Stannard. "There was a front part of it that doesn't seem to be on video yet, and I don't want the public to react to just that part of it. I want them to wait until the whole investigation is done."

 

‘It’s very surreal’

Sarah Duguay was working at a nearby barbershop when shots rang out.

"I stepped out and there was just police everywhere,” she told CTV News Monday. “It’s very surreal that it happened so close to work when we’re supposed to be safe.”

“It just feels kind of heavy knowing that someone died.”

The incident has renewed calls from community advocates to equip officers with body-worn cameras, similar to those implemented by the RCMP earlier this month.

“I don’t think it’s a magic bullet, but I think it tells a bigger part of the story,” said Sheila North. “But it also holds people accountable before they make rash or unethical decisions.”

However, Christopher Schneider, a sociology professor at Brandon University, said the cameras don’t always capture the full story and their content can’t be made public.

“We’re always going to have puzzle pieces, as it were, of any incident in question,” he said. “And body-worn camera footage is only one of the puzzle pieces.”

 

Police watchdog probing shooting

As of Monday afternoon, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) confirmed it is probing the shooting.

The police watchdog said in a news release that it was notified of the shooting on Sunday, with a team of IIU investigators immediately deployed.

Because this involves a death, the IIU noted it will be requesting the Manitoba Police Commission appoint a civilian monitor.

Anyone with information or video footage of the shooting is asked to call IIU investigators at 1-844-667-6060.