Police run ragged by violence

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trevor hagan / winnipeg free press A police officer gathers evidence markers after investigating the stabbing scene outside Republic Nightclub on Sunday.

Police resources were "severely taxed" during a violent night on Winnipeg streets when multiple stabbings, severe assaults, gun sightings and fires were reported within a 12-hour period.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Rob Carver said four major incidents were reported early Sunday -- including a severe beating that left a 36-year-old man in critical condition and a nightclub stabbing that sent a 20-year-old man to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

He said police resources were particularly stretched as officers dealt with a number of gun sightings, stabbings and fires reported at the same time.

Health Sciences Centre had to divert a number of patients to other hospitals so medical staff could focus on treating patients suffering injuries caused by some form of violence. Heidi Graham, spokeswoman for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said the emergency room was busier than normal due to the trauma cases.

Carver said every call police receive could take several hours to complete, which limits their ability to respond to incoming emergencies.

"We did have other significant incidents going on across the city," he said. "Police resources were severely taxed."

Police were called to a stabbing outside Republic Nightclub on Bannatyne Avenue around 1:45 a.m. Carver said a large group of people were standing outside, as it was near the club's closing time. Nightclub staff had asked a number of people to leave, Carver said, including two men, ages 20 and 24.

Carver said an altercation occurred outside, and the 20-year-old man suffered multiple stab wounds to his upper body. He was taken to hospital in critical condition but has since been upgraded to guarded condition. The 24-year-old man was treated for a head laceration at the scene and released.

Carver said the incident does not appear to be gang-related, and police are reviewing video surveillance for evidence.

Less than an hour later, police were called to the 1400 block of Notre Dame Avenue after a 36-year-old man was severely beaten. Carver said the man knew people inside a nearby building, but it appears the assault occurred outside.

At 3:30 a.m., police were called to the 600 block of St. Matthews Avenue after area residents reported a 27-year-old woman had suffered a severe assault. Carver said the woman's injuries were so severe, she has been unable to talk to police about the incident in detail. He said police think the assault occurred at another location, possibly a nearby back lane.

"We don't have all the details," Carver said. "It doesn't look like it was people she knew."

At 4:45 a.m., police were called to Ellice Avenue and Maryland Street after two women were robbed at knifepoint by two other women. A 33-year-old woman was taken to hospital after she was knocked to the ground and stabbed.

Police have not made arrests in any of these incidents, and ask anyone with information to contact police at 986-6668 or Crime Stoppers at 786-8477.

Police said one of the two women wanted in connection with the Ellice and Maryland robbery is described as aboriginal in appearance, 5-5, in her early 30s, 150 pounds, wearing a black sweatshirt and armed with a black-handled hunting knife. The other woman is in her mid-30s, with a large build and medium-length dark brown hair. She was wearing a baggy grey hooded sweatshirt at the time of the robbery and armed with a silver-coloured folding knife.

In addition to the major incidents, Carver said officers helped evacuate three homes around midnight when they saw a garage fire in the 300 block of Manitoba Avenue. There were also multiple reports of gun sightings in the North End, nine garbage-bin fires across the city and another stabbing in the area of Ellice and Maryland.

Area resident Susan McGilvery said she awoke to find two women yelling outside her building. McGilvery said she threatened to call police, and the women told her one of them had been stabbed.

"I'm new here," said McGilvery, who recently moved to Winnipeg from Edmonton. "I'm not used to all this. What I saw was pretty harsh."

Carver said serious calls mean multiple units need to be on scene to interview witnesses and wait for detectives.

"When those units are at that call, they can't be responding to other calls," Carver said. "It means that the ability to respond to another emergency gets limited."

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca

Police were busy responding to a number of incidents early Sunday morning, including:

-- Midnight: Police evacuate three homes in the 300 block of Manitoba Avenue after fire breaks out in a garage.

-- 1:45 a.m.: Police are called to Republic Nightclub, where two men have been injured following an altercation outside the club on Bannatyne Avenue. A 20-year-old man was taken to hospital in critical condition, and a 24-year-old man was treated at the scene for a laceration to the head.

-- 2:30 a.m.: Police are called to an apartment block in the 1400 block of Notre Dame Avenue, where a 36-year-old man was found severely beaten. He was taken to hospital in critical condition.

-- 3:30 a.m.: Police are called to the 600 block of St. Matthews Avenue after residents report a 27-year-old woman suffered a serious upper body assault.

-- 4:45 a.m.: Police are called to Ellice Avenue and Maryland Street after two women were robbed at knifepoint. One woman was taken to hospital after she was knocked to the ground and stabbed.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 16, 2012 B1