Mike on Crime

By James Turner
Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg police have issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for a 17-year-old boy charged with second-degree murder in connection with the slaying of a 37-year-old man on Sunday.

Police said today the victim was stabbed in the upper body during a confrontation shortly before 8 p.m. at a home in the 400 block of Pacific Avenue, in the city’s North End.

The man was taken to hospital in critical condition but died later from his injuries.

The Winnipeg Police Service’s Homicide Unit continues to investigate the stabbing and no further details were released.

A young man in his 20s was rushed to nearby Health Sciences Centre where he later died from his injuries, police said.

Police had taped off a large swath of the street as their identification unit investigated what happened.

Neighbours living behind the home said they were unsure what had happened, but believed the man was a resident of the 1¾ storey rented house.

Shortly after the incident, a neighbour said he saw a man comforting a small girl about 10 years old – the family that lived in the home seemed like peaceful people, and not known for partying, the man said.

It’s the second time in less than a year that 427 Pacific has been the centre of tragic violence.

Alvin Randall McDonald, 20, was gunned down in the early morning of Jun. 12 outside the home while visiting a friend – police said it appears the man got into a verbal dispute with two other men before he was shot in the chest.

McDonald, a father of two small children, was from a small First Nation community in Ontario – the police investigation into the shooting death resulted in the arrest of 19-year-old Thomas Ross Halpin the following weekend.

Halpin was charged with second-degree murder in connection with McDonald’s death – he was wanted on three separate arrest warrants at the time police caught up with him.

Because of its proximity to the Salter Street Bridge, the area is the frequent site of clashes between the Central and North Side street gangs.

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old man has died from the injuries he received in a May 15 beating on Flora Avenue, police said today.

A Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson said the man died in hospital on Saturday and Division 13 detectives are now treating the case as a homicide.

A 16-year-old male was arrested two days after the attack and was charged with aggravated assault. New charges are now exected to be laid.

Police said the victim had been walking in the area of Austin Street and Euclid Avenue at about 11 p.m. May 15 when he became involved in a verbal dispute with an unknown male.

The male left the area but returned a short time later and caught up with the man in the 400 block of Flora. The man was attacked and suffered serious injuries to his upper body.

The police investigation is continuing.