News briefs for Thursday, July 4, 2024

West St. Paul home destroyed by fire

4:00 PM

A large house in a riverside neighbourhood in West St. Paul was destroyed by fire Thursday.

RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seel said officers were sent to the scene, along with West St. Paul Fire Department members and paramedics, shortly after 11:30 a.m.

The blaze occurred at a home on River Edge Drive in a development called River’s Edge Estates, about seven kilometres north of Winnipeg. Some homes back onto the Red River.

Seel said no humans or pets were inside the home. No injuries were reported.

The Office of the Fire Commissioner is investigating.

Passerby interrupts sexual assault of girl

3:17 PM

A man is facing charges after a suspect sexually assaulted a young girl in a wooded area and threatened a man who interrupted the attack.

Pukatawagan RCMP were called at about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and told a man was out for a walk when he stumbled upon the scene of the sexual assault and tackled the assailant. The girl, who was under 10 years old, fled.

The attacker threatened the passerby with a knife, police said. The passerby was able to get away and call for help.

RCMP arrested a 28-year-old local man and found the victim at a nearby home. The injured girl was transported to a Winnipeg hospital.

Police said Thursday that the girl was walking down a path when she was attacked. She didn’t know the attacker or the man who intervened, RCMP said in a news release.

Kyle Dumas remains in custody and is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and failing to comply with orders to avoid unauthorized contact with children under 16.

Man dies after ATV crash in Manto Sipi 

12:23 PM

A man was killed after an all-terrain vehicle crashed in Manto Sipi Cree Nation on Wednesday.

Gods Lake Narrows RCMP said the ATV, driven by a 14-year-old girl, flipped at about 3:10 p.m.

A 21-year-old male passenger was taken to the local nursing station, where he died from his injuries. The driver was not hurt, police said Thursday.

Neither rider was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, police said.

Early morning fire in vacant home, shed

10:26 AM

Firefighters extinguished a fire in a vacant William Whyte home early Thursday.

Crews were sent to the two-storey house on the 400 block of Alfred Avenue at 2:12 a.m. and found heavy smoke and flames coming from the house and a shed on the property.

The fire was declared under control at 2:45 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Person rescued from Assiniboine River 

10:19 AM

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews rescued a person from the Assiniboine River on Wednesday night.

Crews were told there was a person moving down the river with the current near the Assiniboine Park Footbridge at about 10:18 p.m.

Crews set up at points east of the location, and a WFPS rescue crew brought the person to safety near Ferry Road and Park Boulevard North.

The person was transported to hospital in stable condition.

“At this time, it is not known why the individual came to be in the water,” the WFPS said in a news release Thursday.

One person in custody after Mountain Avenue standoff

9:49 AM

One person is in custody in connection with what police called a potential weapon or firearm investigation at a North End home.

Police gathered outside a home on the 400 block of Mountain Avenue sometime before 9 a.m. Thursday, and Mountain was closed between Salter and Powers streets until the afternoon. Officers were also in the back lane.

Officers in the Winnipeg Police Service’s armoured vehicle began using a loud-hailer to demand a suspect exit the house shortly after 9:15 a.m.

“The house is surrounded. We know you’re in there,” an officer in the vehicle said.

The heavily armed WPS tactical support team was at the scene.

No further information was available from police late Thursday afternoon.

Bombers starting Streveler vs. Ottawa

9:44 AM

Chris Streveler will start for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at quarterback Friday night against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks (7:30 p.m.).

Starting QB Zach Collaros hasn’t practised all week and is No. 3 on the depth chart as he recovers from a thorax injury he suffered in last week’s loss in Calgary. Rookie Terry Wilson will back up Streveler.

Streveler will attempt to provide the winless Bombers with a boost as they are last in the league in scoring with 18.5 points per game through four weeks.