Long weekend marred by stabbings

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/05/2022 (1379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a bloody Victoria Day long weekend in Winnipeg as police responded to at least six serious stabbing incidents, including at a child’s birthday party.

It’s now routine for Winnipeg Police Service officers to respond to about six stabbings a day.

“It certainly feels like violence in general is kind of making a comeback as we leave the pandemic. The number of just under six a day even surprised me,” spokesman Const. Jay Murray told the Free Press Tuesday.

So far this year, there have been 860 suspected stabbings.

“It’s important to note this is the number of dispatched events where stabbing is suspected. Sometimes that stabbing could turn into a gunshot wound… that number will probably come down a slight amount,” he said.

“But it’s still a significant number and I think that number is sobering for a lot of people. It just goes to show what we’re dealing with on a daily basis.”

Police see an assortment of knives on the street, but big ones are the most popular.

“Larger knives, like hunting-style knives and machetes. Those kind of seem to be the most common edged weapon that we encounter on the street,” Murray said.

The spokesman noted stabbing is by far the most common method of assault that results in serious injuries in Winnipeg.

“Whenever we see these injuries where individuals are transported to hospital in unstable condition, critical condition, or unfortunately if they become homicides, more often than not it seems to be the result of an edged weapon,” he said.

Murray noted the types of incidents run the gamut from domestic disputes to arguments that turn violent.

“Unfortunately, this number is going to rise because we typically see violence increase in summer, things get a little busier,” he warned.

Over the holiday weekend, the first stabbing occurred late Friday. Officers were called to a hospital after a man in his 30s had been dropped off in critical condition suffering from a severe stab wound, police said Tuesday.

He had been stabbed near a bar on the 800 block of Main Street bar. He was later upgraded to stable condition.

Around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police went to the area of Main Street and Jarvis Avenue after two women, one in her 30s and the other in her 40s, were stabbed outside a bar.

Police gave them emergency medical care and were taken to hospital. Three people have been charged — a 15-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man.

On Sunday, there were three stabbing incidents.

Officers were called to a bar on the 100 block of Osborne Street just after 2 a.m after a security guard in his 30s had been stabbed. He was taken to hospital in critical condition, and was upgraded to stable condition.

Around 6:30 p.m., police went to a home on the 600 block of Alexander Avenue after a man in his 30s was stabbed at a child’s birthday party. He was taken to hospital in stable condition. Another man went to hospital for a cut. Both men declined “further police assistance,” police said.

Five hours later, police went to a home on the 100 block of Powers Street after two teenage boys were stabbed at a nearby basketball court. They are in stable condition.

Early Monday, officers were called to a hospital after two men in their 20s arrived in stable condition with stab wounds. Police believe the men were stabbed near a Main Street bar on the 400 block, but they declined to be interviewed.

Spokesman Murray noted city police have increased officers’ ability to provide emergency medical care because they are often the first to arrive at the scene.

“A few years back, we really only had our tourniquets. Now we have chest seals, we have packing material that we can use for wounds and we have a whole… ability to treat these individuals,” he said.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera