News briefs for Friday, June 26, 2026

Jets select Björck in first round

7:14 PM

The Winnipeg Jets chose Swedish centre Viggo Björck with the eighth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Björck, who shoots right-handed, brings a blend of speed and tenacity to an organization looking to fill the void at second-line centre.

Björck helped Sweden win the world junior hockey championship and recently suited up for his country in the IIHF men’s world championship last month.

The Jets next pick is scheduled to be in the third round at 71st overall.

Carson Carels of Cypress River was the first Manitoban chosen, going sixth overall to the Calgary Flames.

The defenceman had 20 goals and 73 points in 58 games for the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League last season.

Man arrested after gunpoint carjacking in Transcona

3:22 PM

Winnipeg police have arrested a 28-year-old accused of carjacking a man at gunpoint after shooting out his driver’s side window in Transcona on Wednesday evening.

The suspect approached a 40-year-old woman and her daughter in a parking lot near a commercial business on the 500 block of Regent Avenue West at about 6 p.m., armed with a handgun and demanding the keys to the woman’s vehicles.

The woman and her daughter managed to escape into a business nearby, the Winnipeg Police Service, but the suspect approached another parked vehicle and demanded the keys from the 43-year-old driver while pointing the gun at him.

The driver started his pickup truck to try to leave, but the suspect shot out the window, shattering it.

The victim got out of the truck and the suspect hopped in and peeled off, but ditched the truck soon after.

Patrol officers found the suspect at another business on the 200 block of Melrose Avenue and arrested him.

Carter Scott Muller, 28, is charged with robbery, two counts of pointing a firearm and possession of a weapon. He was held in custody.

Fire crews rescue person from burning high-rise Friday morning

12:56 PM

Firefighters rescued a person from a burning high-rise apartment building Friday morning.

Crews responded to fire alarms at the eight-storey structure on Hendon Avenue just before 5 a.m. and located the person inside a burning suite where the blaze originated. They rescued the individual and paramedics treated them on scene, before they were transported to hospital in unstable condition, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.

Crews fought the flames from inside the building, and brought the fire under control shortly before 5:30 a.m. Damage from the incident was largely contained to the affected suite. Some residents self-evacuated, while others sheltered in place. No other injuries were reported, WFPS said.

Earlier that morning, at 2:22 a.m., crews responded to a fire in a single-storey commercial building on the 700 block of Dufferin Avenue. They encountered smoke coming from the building and fought the fire from inside, declaring it under control at 3:44 a.m. A search of the building revealed no occupants and no injuries were reported, WFPS said.

Both incidents remain under investigation.

Boy, 13, injured after shots fired on First Nation

12:07 PM

A 13-year-old boy required emergency surgery after a shooting on a remote Manitoba First Nation early Friday morning.

Mounties responded to shots fired behind a building in Nisichawayasihk First Nation (Nelson House) around 1:45 a.m., RCMP said in a news release.

The community is located about 670 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Officers learned the boy suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to hospital where he immediately underwent surgery. He remains in stable condition, the release said.

RCMP are asking anyone with information about the incident to call 204-484-2288, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a secure tip online.

Minor injuries after plane makes emergency landing in ditch

10:46 AM

One person was taken to hospital after a small airplane had to make an emergency landing in a highway ditch near Sandy Lake on Thursday evening.

RCMP from the Yellowhead and Spruce Plains detachments were alerted that the small plane was in distress and attempting to land on Highway 45, east of Sandy Lake, at about 7:10 p.m.

The TBM 8 single-engine plane had taken off from The Pas earlier in the day and was en route to Brandon when the pilot had to make the emergency landing. The plane came to a stop in a ditch on the north side of Highway 45.

Four people were on board at the time of the crash. Just one individual had to be taken to hospital with injuries that the RCMP said are believed to be minor.

Transportation Safety Board officials have been notified of the incident.

One dead after ATV hit by gravel truck in RM of Brokenhead

8:52 AM

A 19-year-old man is dead after a gravel truck hit an ATV in the rural municipality of Brokenhead Thursday.

Beausejour RCMP and emergency services were called to the scene on Provincial Road 302, near Road 71 North, at 5:20 p.m. The driver of the ATV was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the truck, a 60-year-old man from Steinbach, was not injured.

RCMP are investigating.