News briefs for Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Fire in vacant Tweed Avenue home

9:01 AM

Firefighters extinguished a fire in a vacant house on Tweed Avenue early Tuesday.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service was sent to the one-and-a-half-storey home in the 300 block of Tweed at 2:21 a.m. and declared the fire under control at 2:38 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Fire in downtown high-rise building

9:46 AM

A high-rise apartment building downtown was evacuated early Tuesday after a fire started in a suite.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service was sent to the building in the 400 block of Kennedy Street at 4:05 a.m. Crews fought the fire from inside the building and declared the fire under control at 4:29 a.m.

Some residents left the building on their own, while firefighters helped others get out, the WFPS said. Some residents remained in their suites. No injuries were reported, the WFPS said.

Fire damage was contained to the suite where the fire started. Most residents were able to return to their suites after firefighters ventilated smoke from the building.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Police dismantling Brady landfill blockade

10:53 AM

Winnipeg police and city staff are dismantling a blockade of the main road leading to the Brady Road landfill.

A judge granted an interim injunction last week after the city sought a court order to halt the demonstration.

Police are scheduled to comment on the operation shortly after 11 a.m.

Drug, gun charges after foot chase

11:46 AM

Two men are facing gun and drug charges after a foot chase in North Kildonan on Monday night.

The Winnipeg Police Service said officers saw a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed on Chief Peguis Trail towards Henderson Highway at about 8:45 p.m.

When officers tried to pull the vehicle over in the area of Henderson and Litz Place, the vehicle slowed but continued into the lane behind Litz.

The driver and passenger took off running. A gun and pills were discarded during a foot pursuit, the WPS said, and two suspects were arrested.

The items seized included a loaded 9mm handgun with an obliterated serial number, Percocet pills and crack cocaine.

Two men, ages 27 and 25, are both facing numerous charges.

Godsmack coming to downtown arena Oct. 16

12:12 PM

Godsmack will crank up the volume for a concert at Canada Life Centre on Oct. 16.

Tickets go on sale July 21 at 10 a.m. at livenation.com and ticketmaster.ca. Prices were not announced.

Godsmack have sold more than 20 million records around the world since the Massachusetts group’s self-titled debut in 1998. Their latest album, Lighting Up the Sky, came out in February.

Michgan rockers I Prevail will open the show.

Man, 40, dies in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation boating accident

12:57 PM

A 40-year-old man died after he was thrown from a boat near Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation on Monday evening.

RCMP officers in Nelson House were called to the Notigi Boat Launch, just outside the First Nation, at about 6 p.m.

When they arrived, they found a 30-year-old man injured and the 40-year-old man dead. The two men, who are from the community that is about 90 kilometres west of Thompson, were the only people in the boat.

RCMP say the 30-year-old was driving the boat when it struck debris in the water, causing the boat to veer off course and eject the victim. The driver was able to get the victim back in the boat and to shore, but the victim died.

Mounties say they will not lay charges in the accident.

Inmate dies after fight at Stony Mountain prison: RCMP

1:15 PM

A 33-year-old inmate at federal Stony Mountain Institution died after he was injured during a “large fight” at the prison Monday evening, RCMP say.

Mounties in Stonewall were called to the prison to respond to the brawl between inmates just after 6:30 p.m., where they were told some of the inmates were armed with “edged weapons,” RCMP say.

Seven inmates were injured in the melee and rushed to hospital, while the 33-year-old, who was from Winnipeg, was pronounced dead at the scene.

RCMP major crimes and forensics officers are investigating.

Province boosts funding to new missing persons unit

1:58 PM

The provincial government has boosted funding to a new province-wide missing persons unit.

The Manitoba Integrated Missing Persons, which was first announced in March, will operate out of the Winnipeg Police Service’s headquarters and serve as a centralized intake for all missing persons cases, including those in RCMP and Manitoba First Nations Police Service jurisdictions.

Officials previously said city police would hire additional civilian co-ordinators to assess and triage missing persons cases, prioritizing investigations into suspicious cases.

The provincial government initially put up $2.1 million for the unit. Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced an additional $3.1 million, meant to support the WPS and RCMP’s operational plan, Tuesday.

Winnipeg police seek suspicious vehicle

5:02 PM

Winnipeg police are searching for a suspicious vehicle spotted on St. James Street on Tuesday afternoon.

Police say they were called about the vehicle, a silver Volkswagen Tiguan, at about 12:30 p.m. on the 600 block of St. James.

A woman inside the vehicle appeared to possibly be in distress, police say.

The vehicle might have a Manitoba license plate on its rear with the numbers LFX 318 or HKF 122. Police say the driver was a white man with a bald or shaved head.

Police ask anyone who has seen the vehicle to call 911.