Fountain Street fire, homicide not linked: Police

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This article was published 03/02/2024 (936 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police say a homicide and a fire in the same building eight hours apart do not appear to be connected.

Police say they responded to a call for a man who was found “unresponsive” in a residence in the 200 block of Fountain Street just after 3 a.m. Saturday. Officers administered emergency medical aid to the 43-year-old who was then taken to hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced dead in hospital.

Hours earlier, fire crews responded to a fire in the same building.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said at 7 p.m. Friday, they were called to a fire at the two-storey apartment building located in the Centennial neighbourhood. They were alerted to the fire by a WFPS crew who was on scene for an unrelated medical call.

Fire crews put out the fire, which was contained to one unit. Some residents had left the building but others remained inside. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

On Saturday, Winnipeg police Const. Jason Michalyshen said there “does not appear to be any relation or link” between the fire and the homicide “at this point in time.” The two incidents appear to have occured in different suites, he said. The medical call paramedics responded to on Friday is also not believed to be connected to the homicide, he said.

Michalyshen said he could not comment on the nature of the man’s injuries due to the ongoing investigation. Police have not yet released the man’s name and are in the process of notifying his family, he said.

At the scene Saturday, smoke residue could be seen above a broken window on an upper side unit of the building. Plywood covered the window and fiberglass insulation could be seen on the ground outside.

The homicide unit is investigating and anyone with information or video that may help investigators is asked to call Winnipeg police’s homicide unit at 204-986-6508, Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS or submit a report online at winnipegcrimestoppers.org.

This is Winnipeg’s fourth homicide of 2024.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca