Shootings linked to increase in illegal guns, police say

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This article was published 11/09/2023 (774 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two men were shot dead in separate slayings just hours apart on Sunday — part of a spate of violence police say is linked to increased access to firearms on Winnipeg streets.

In the latest killing, Daniel Raymond Garvey-Rodriquez, 21, was found outside an apartment block at 285 College Ave., just off Charles Street, at about 6:45 p.m.

Garvey-Rodriquez was on the boulevard, bleeding from a gunshot wound, according to a neighbour who witnessed the aftermath of the shooting before police and paramedics arrived.

He was rushed to hospital, where he died, marking the 24th homicide of the year. Police have made no arrests in the shooting.

Another man, 23-year-old Everett Patterson King, was shot on Mountain Avenue near McGregor Street just before 1 a.m. and later died in hospital.

Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said there is no indication the two shootings, which occurred a few blocks apart, are connected.

However, she said, the two deadly shootings are connected to an uptick in illegal guns on the street.

“Whatever the problem is, the remedy is to solve it with a firearm — we’re seeing it more and more,” McKinnon said. “People are taking extreme measures to solve problems, issues, concerns they have with other people. It just seems these shootings are becoming more normalized, which is really terrifying.”

At mid-day Monday, police squad cars and unmarked vehicles remained at the three-storey red brick apartment on College Avenue, which was blocked off with yellow crime-scene tape between Charles Street and an alleyway just west of Main Street.

An emergency medical kit sat on the boulevard, and discarded latex gloves were visible in the gutter.

The neighbour said he was watching television when he heard a commotion outside of his home. When he poked his head out the window, he saw the victim outside as emergency responders arrived on the scene.

“It’s something I’ve never seen before,” the neighbour said of the bleeding man.

The 61-year-old, who asked the Free Press to withhold his name out of fear of retaliation, said the apartment block is controlled by the Bloodz street gang, who often hold court, dressed in red, outside the building and nearby.

“You mind your own business, you’re OK… but the young punks who want to get in, earn their stripes, street cred, it’s stupid, it’s absolutely stupid,” he said, adding he had heard from other neighbours that the shooting was related to an argument inside the apartment block.

McKinnon said police are aware of gang issues in the area, but investigators don’t yet know the motive for the shooting.

The neighbour said police and paramedics are a frequent sight at the historic building, which was named Stratford Hall when it was built in 1909.

The 61-year-old said a more fitting name would be “murder mansion.”

“That’s probably the worst block in the city,” he said. “There’s cops here every day.”

Sunday’s first homicide victim, King, was shot at about 12:45 a.m. outside of 557 Mountain Ave. following a social gathering at the home. He died in hospital, and homicide detectives have arrested one suspect.

Police believe the victim and the accused, who did not know each other, both went to the home to socialize. Upon leaving, police said, the two had another “encounter” that led to the shooting outside.

McKinnon said police do not yet know what may have occurred inside the home, including any interactions between the victim and alleged shooter.

Homicide detectives charged Dartanian Francesco Martin Packuluk, 21, with second-degree murder. He was also charged on Sunday with four firearms offences, break and enter with intent, and fail to comply with probation, court records show.

McKinnon said she could not elaborate on the other charges.

Packuluk has a violent history, including multiple convictions for assault, theft and disobeying court orders, records show.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca