‘We may have a gang situation brewing’

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This article was published 26/02/2025 (238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City police are stepping up patrols in the North End to thwart gang-related violence after three recent shootings, eight gun-related arrests and other signs of conflict.

Insp. Elton Hall, commander of the Winnipeg Police Service’s north district, said six of those arrested were gang members who may have been planning a shooting.

“One of the individuals… said they were part of a gang, and there’s going to be a gang war,” Hall told reporters Wednesday. “In saying that, we hear that quite a bit, so I’m not overly concerned.”

Hall told city council’s Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan community committee Tuesday that “we may have a gang situation brewing,” following three shootings in the past 12 days.

He confirmed one was a daytime shooting in the 600 block of Manitoba Avenue in the William Whyte neighbourhood on Feb. 19. One person was injured and one was in custody, police said at the time.

Officers from the guns and gangs and community support units are among those involved in the increased patrols.

“We’re just doing our part to try and get crime down in the area, and help the people living there,” Hall told reporters.

He said the area has been prone to gang activity for “quite some time,” and recent mild weather has led to more activity on the street.

“Usually, any sort of gang violence that occurs is gang (member) on gang member,” Hall said. “It is very rare that individuals in the community will experience any sort of hardship or violence because of it.”

Four gang members were carrying four guns — two of them loaded — when they were arrested Sunday, Hall said.

Police then seized two loaded guns and arrested four people, including two gang members, on Selkirk Avenue Monday.

In both cases, officers recognized people getting into taxis as gang members wanted by police.

“Usually, any sort of gang violence that occurs is gang (member) on gang member.”–Insp. Elton Hall

“Doing this 25 years, clearly they were going to a location to probably commit a shooting or commit a crime, and come back into the North End where they were,” said Hall, the former head of the WPS organized crime division.

“Just good, proactive police work by North End officers, obviously preventing some sort of incident that was about to occur.”

Hall told the committee three of the six firearms were sawed-off shotguns that were probably stolen some time ago.

Two were handguns that are being traced. Based on his experience and the fact that an analysis didn’t return a quick result, he suspects the guns may have been stolen and trafficked into Canada from the U.S..

He told reporters he saw an increase in seizures of guns trafficked from the U.S. when he was in the organized crime division.

“They sell very quickly in Winnipeg, and they go for usually quite a bit of money,” he said. “It’s, unfortunately, the gun of choice for people on the street now.”

The sixth firearm was a “zip” — homemade — gun of poor quality, Hall said.

Darrell Warren, president of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association, said violence seems to have escalated and drug activity has become more noticeable recently.

People fear getting caught up in the middle of a shooting, the longtime North End resident said.

“A lot of people want this stuff cleaned up, but are afraid to report it to police because they fear retribution from gang members, drug dealers or the criminal element.”–Darrell Warren

“If we don’t deal with it here, it’s going to spread,” he said.

The association is setting up an anonymous crime tip line after applying for provincial funding.

“A lot of people want this stuff cleaned up, but are afraid to report it to police because they fear retribution from gang members, drug dealers or the criminal element,” Warren said.

Both Hall and Warren said socio-economic challenges are at play, and it’s not just a policing issue. Warren said governments, police, communities and others must work together to tackle problems.

Inner City Youth Alive executive director Kent Dueck founded the North End-based ministry almost 40 years ago. He has seen anti-gang strategies or solutions come and go.

Dueck said he would welcome a wider conversation about concentrated and sustained efforts to help people get out of or avoid getting into a gang.

“Whatever we do, it has to be innovative because what we’re doing is clearly not working,” he said, noting repeat offenders should be “contained.”

Young people have told the organization they face a lack of supports or alternatives for income if they leave gang life, Dueck said.

Inner City Youth Alive’s programs include a drop-in centre, wilderness camp and Step Up Construction, which provides training and employment.

“We try to give youth in our community a different picture of what is possible,” Dueck said.

“Whatever we do, it has to be innovative because what we’re doing is clearly not working.”–Kent Dueck

Coun. Ross Eadie, whose Mynarski ward includes much of the North End, said spending on leisure and recreation and diversion programs should increase.

He mentioned the community-based Gang Action Interagency Network, which faced difficulty obtaining funding during its existence. GAIN closed its programs in 2023.

“It’s concerning to me,” he said of gang violence. “People are afraid, and for good reason.”

Tackling the drug crisis is part of the solution, Eadie said, noting the city’s “gang problem” ebbs and flows.

“The illegal drug trade is feeding money to (gangs) right now,” he said.

This year’s municipal budget includes 36 new police officers and $1 million for new youth recreation programming in “high-needs” areas, Mayor Scott Gillingham noted.

“Our crime severity index is too high right now,” he said. “One of the first tasks of the new (police) chief will be to drive those crime rates down, and make sure that we are doing all we can to have a safer city.”

The WPS has been without a permanent chief since Danny Smyth retired last fall.

Gillingham is among those who’ve called for bail reform from the federal government to target violent offenders. A “tougher border” could also help, he said.

“So many of the guns that are used in violent offences and criminal activity on the streets of Canadian cities come from the United States,” the mayor said.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the province has provided funding for 24 new WPS officers, and Manitoba-wide measures targeting organized crime and street gangs.

Government departments, including Families and Education, are working together to address “roots of crime,” he said.

Data is being collected and shared to direct funds in a targeted way with the “biggest impact,” Wiebe said.

“We’re tracking very carefully and closely what the gang activity looks like, what the picture is right now,” he said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca