Police search for suspect in four sex assaults in, around HSC

Three Health Sciences Centre staff members and a teenage girl were sexually assaulted while on or around the HSC grounds within an hour Wednesday evening, underscoring persistent safety concerns at Manitoba’s largest hospital.

A memo sent to HSC staff Thursday afternoon said there had been several reports of women being “assaulted by inappropriate touching or groping and that (Winnipeg police) are involved.”

“We are deeply disturbed by these events. We are grateful to those who have reported these events and to our security team who swiftly intervened,” the memo reads.

The Winnipeg Police Service said it is investigating four sexual assaults that occurred within less than an hour Wednesday evening — beginning at 7 p.m. when a teenage girl was confronted by a man and assaulted in the area of Elgin Avenue and Sherbrook Street, and ending at 7:45 p.m. when an HSC staff member was assaulted while walking near the hospital, on Emily Street near McDermot Avenue.

Police are still looking for a suspect, who is described as a slim man with dark hair who is in his 20s and was wearing a Winnipeg Jets shirt and jersey.

The Manitoba Nurses Union has received reports from its members that as many as five nurses were sexually assaulted Wednesday evening.

President Darlene Jackson said at least one nurse reported being traumatized and is “going to have some issues with mental wellness after this event.”

She said the incidents occurred during a shift change and took place in an underground tunnel that is only accessible by staff at one end, but can be entered by anyone in the hospital through the other end.

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“It worries me so much because any one of those people on night shift could have gone down into those tunnels, not knowing that something was happening there, and could have been assaulted,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Jackson said nurses who were on duty that night told the union they weren’t informed about the assaults or the police presence; they were shocked they were allowed to use the tunnels that night while the suspect remained at large.

“The employer knew about it, but didn’t reach out to the staff that were all there for the night shift, saying, ‘Hey, this has happened. Be careful. Please don’t use (the tunnel),” she said. “It just really makes you wonder how concerned they are about their staff safety.”

When asked by the Free Press whether staff or patients were made aware of the incidents Wednesday evening, Shared Health did not answer. Instead, it responded with an email statement saying the hospital is “committed to listening, responding, and taking meaningful action.”

“We are aware of several recent incidents that have occurred in and around the Health Sciences Centre campus. We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the staff who came forward to share their experiences — their voices were essential in helping our security team to respond swiftly,” a Shared Health spokesperson said.

HSC offers safe escort services to staff and security conduct regular foot patrols, the spokesperson said.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara called the assaults “deeply concerning.”

“You should always be able to work, get service or visit HSC safely,” Asagwara said in an email statement.

“My office will work alongside Shared Health and HSC to review these incidents and identify opportunities to better protect those who visit and work at HSC.”

Jackson said the hospital should consider locking down the tunnels so they are only accessible by staff, and the union has reached out to the HSC about the incidents.

“Clearly, the area and the facility are getting more unsafe all the time,” she said.

“I really think the employer and the government really need to look at how we make that facility safe, not just for staff, but for patients, residents and families, anyone that goes in there. I think they really need to take it to heart.”

Assaults and other violent acts have been a long-standing issue at HSC. In February, a nurse told the Free Press her workplace is a “danger zone” due to violence inflicted by patients.

An arbitrator, who ruled on a nurses’ union grievance, found that staff face an “unacceptable level of risk” in a report last year.

The arbitrator said HSC’s employee “self-help” instructions — which included using the tunnel system — were not enough to mitigate the risk faced by staff.

HSC spent $12.8 million on security measures in the 2024-25 fiscal year, nearly as much as the rest of the Winnipeg regional health authority, which spent $13.3 million that same year.

That funding includes 42 safety officers and AI-powered weapons detectors at three hospital entrances.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.