‘It all happened so fast’: man stabbed defending children in Thompson home invasion recovers in hospital

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This article was published 28/12/2023 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A father of five says he is grateful to be alive, after a violent home invasion Christmas Eve left him clinging to life on an emergency room operating table.

Ramsey Thomas, a Winnipeg man who was in Thompson visiting his children, was stabbed five times while trying to shield the children from a group of intruders who came crashing through the door in the early hours of Dec. 24.

“It just felt so surreal. They were asking for money and I just told them, ‘You’ve got the wrong guy, man, I’m just here to visit my babies,’” Thomas said, speaking by phone Thursday from a hospital bed in the northern Manitoba city.

“It all happened so fast. I heard them throwing stuff around and hitting my kids’ mother. I was trying to get up to get to her, but I was already stabbed and losing a lot of blood.”

Thomas was at his children’s mother’s house on Elm Street just after 1 a.m., when four or five men broke into the home in what police are calling a targeted attack.

The group, who were dressed entirely in black and wearing face masks, appeared to be searching for something, Thomas said.

Seven children, ranging in age from three to 16 years old, were inside the home. Five were Thomas’s kids, while two others were relatives, he said.

The men stabbed and slashed at Thomas’s hands and arms as he attempted to prevent them from entering. He then ran to a nearby bedroom and ushered the children inside before suffering another stab wound to his torso. It punctured his colon and causing significant internal bleeding.

The intruders ransacked the home before fleeing. The attack lasted less then five minutes, Thomas said.

“It was an in-and-out thing. They knew what they were doing, they knew what they were looking for, but I don’t know if they found it,” the man said, adding he believes the invasion was related to a group of people who were staying in the home before he arrived.

“The only thing I wanted to do was to protect my kids… My daughter was so scared in her room, she didn’t even want to open the door. After it was all over, I told her, ‘It’s OK, my love. It’s OK, it’s me. They are gone.’”

Severely injured and confused, Thomas escorted the children and their mother to a nearby relative’s house.

When he returned to the Elm Street home, Thompson RCMP were on scene.

The wounded man was taken to the hospital in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery. He expects to remain in hospital for at least a week.

RCMP are searching for up to five suspects, possibly youth or young adults, who were traveling in a black pickup truck.

“The home itself was targeted. While I can’t speak to specifics, in general, these types of targeted home invasions usually involve associations to criminal/gang activity and/or the drug subculture,” RCMP spokesperson Robert Cyrenne said in an email Thursday.

“Regardless of why the home was targeted… There is no justification for the level of violence against the victim and the blatant disregard for the safety of the children inside the home.”

Cyrenne acknowledged crime in the RCMP’s northern district, which encompasses Thompson, Flin Flon and The Pas, has escalated in recent years.

According to RCMP statistics, the district logged 810 personal crimes, including assaults, robbery, threats and sexual offences, between October 2022 and October 2023.

While the numbers are down by seven per cent compared to the previous year, they remain significantly higher than such crimes recorded in other parts of the province. The North district also leads rural Manitoba in property crimes and drug offenses.

Cyrenne attributed the heightened activity to street gangs and “prolific offenders,” a term police use to describe repeat criminals.

“Increasingly, these prolific offenders and street gang members are using a variety of weapons, including firearms, to carry out their intimidation and violent crimes. This heightens the risk and threatens the safety of all community residents,” he said.

The spokesman outlined a series of police initiatives, including the deployment of specialized units who use advanced intelligence technology and techniques.

Successfully reducing violent crime in the North requires collaboration with justice, health, addiction services and community leaders, he added.

“I was really concerned for the children and for the victim, and I am still concerned for them to this day. An incident like that is very traumatizing for anyone,” Thompson MLA Eric Redhead said Thursday by phone.

The provincial official lives just one street away from where the attack occurred.

The level of violence was uncommon for the area, which, despite its challenges is a “vibrant community home to wonderful people,” he said.

Police, municipal and provincial officials are working closely to bolster addiction and youth resources in Thompson, Redhead added.

Anyone with information is asked to call Thompson RCMP at 204-677-6909, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca