News briefs for Friday, April 4, 2025

Person taken to hospital after house fire

9:19 PM

One person was taken to hospital after fire broke out in a house on the 100 block of Kinver Avenue around 5 p.m. Friday.

Firefighters declared the fire under control at 8:10 p.m., the city said.

The city’s emergency social services team provided temporary support to displaced residents.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

True North to announce Whiteout details

1:53 PM

True North Sports + Entertainment will announce details about the upcoming Whiteout street parties for Stanley Cup playoff games at a public event next week.

The announcement about the parties and other initiatives “fans can look forward to” will be made in True North Square’s plaza at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. Winnipeg Jets fans are invited to take part in related events starting at 11:30 a.m.

Premier Wab Kinew and Mayor Scott Gillingham “and special guests” will be there, True North said Friday.

The National Hockey League’s regular season ends April 17. The Jets, who have clinched a playoff spot, play their final game of the regular season one day earlier.

Turn sump hoses away from transformers: Manitoba Hydro

1:40 PM

Manitoba Hydro is urging people with pad-mounted transformers in their yards to direct sump hoses away from the equipment.

Workers have seen several of the green electrical boxes surrounded by large puddles around them this year, the public utility said in a news release Friday.

“If a puddle gets deep enough, standing water can corrode equipment, requiring costly repairs and causing power outages,” Manitoba Hydro said.

The transformers are used in areas with underground electrical cables and reduce the voltage of electricity before it goes into nearby homes.

The transformers are designed to be safe when wet and are raised above the ground, but higher levels of water from a sump hose could damage them.

Man stabbed on city bus in attempted robbery

1:14 PM

A passenger was stabbed during an attempted robbery on a Winnipeg Transit bus Wednesday night.

Police were sent to the area of Portage Avenue and Main Street at about 8:30 p.m. and found the 21-year-old man, who had suffered an injury to his “upper body,” at the rear of the bus.

Officers gave him medical attention and applied a chest seal before emergency crews arrived. The victim was transported to hospital in unstable condition and later upgraded to stable.

Investigators learned multiple people approached the victim on the bus and tried to rob him. The man was stabbed during an altercation, and the attackers fled before police arrived.

City police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the major crimes unit at 204-986-6219, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.

Woman faces weapons charges in road-rage incident

1:08 PM

A woman is facing weapons charges after she allegedly pulled out a pistol and waved it around during a road-rage incident.

The weapon turned out to be a black CO2 air pistol, the Winnipeg Police Service said Friday.

Police were sent to a parking lot on the first 100 block of Marion Street at about 1:15 p.m. Thursday. Officers arrested a 32-year-old woman and seized the pistol, which had not been fired.

Police learned a 36-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were driving north on St. Mary’s Road at Fermor Avenue when another vehicle pulled in front of them, driving erratically.

Both vehicles stopped at a lot on the 100 block of Goulet Street. The people involved argued until the woman pulled out the pistol and waved it in the general direction of the people from the other vehicle while continuing to yell at them, the WPS said.

Both vehicles left, and the victims called police. The suspect and victims did not know each other, police said.

The woman is facing charges of possession of a weapon and pointing a firearm. She was released on an appearance notice.

Unstamped tobacco seized from Dauphin store

12:57 PM

RCMP say officers raided a store in Dauphin twice within four months, seizing illegal unstamped cigarettes, tobacco pouches, vaping products and alcohol that was being sold without a permit.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the latest raid Thursday morning.

Stamped cigars were being illegally sold as singles at the Main Street store, RCMP said Friday.

Officers seized similar tobacco and vaping items in the first raid, on Dec. 12.

Police also seized stamped cigarettes and vaping items in both raids.

A 52-year-old Dauphin man was arrested and charged with “numerous offences” under the excise and tax administration and miscellaneous taxes acts.

Shoplifter had loaded gun: police

12:41 PM

A man is facing charges after police seized a loaded handgun and more than $20,000 in drugs from a suspected shoplifter Thursday.

Police were sent to the retail store on the 2300 block of McPhillips Street at about 2:55 p.m. after a man and a woman were apprehended by loss-prevention officers.

A loaded 9mm gun was found on the man, the Winnipeg Police Service said Friday.

The WPS said officers also seized about 130 grams of cocaine with an estimated street value of $10,400, about 67 grams of fentanyl worth $10,025, 50 hydromorphone tablets worth $1,000 and about six grams of methamphetamine worth $300.

A 27-year-old Winnipeg man is facing 10 charges related to weapons, drugs and theft. He was detained in custody. A 24-year-old Winnipeg woman faces two drug and theft charges and was released.

Police arrested a 28-year-old man who was carrying a loaded handgun in a grocery store on the 2100 block of McPhillips on Sunday.

Man stabbed outside Thompson business

11:02 AM

A man was rushed to hospital in critical condition and later flown to Winnipeg after he was stabbed outside a business in Thompson.

RCMP were sent to the scene on Mystery Lake Road at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and found a 49-year-old man from Mathias Colomb First Nation — also known as Pukatawagan — with life-threatening injuries.

He remained in hospital in stable condition Friday morning, RCMP said.

Two Thompson males were arrested a short time after the stabbing. One, 18, is charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose and carrying a concealed weapon. A 15-year-old male will face the same charges.

Sex offender expected to live in Winnipeg

10:02 AM

Police are notifying the public about a sex offender being released from prison who is expected to live in Winnipeg.

Lonnie Kelsey Smith, 48, is considered a high risk to reoffend against adult women, the Manitoba integrated high-risk sex offender unit said in a news release Friday.

He was released from Stony Mountain Institution that day, after serving time for impaired operation causing death and other offences that happened in 2019.

Smith, who is under a lifetime weapons prohibition order, “has a history of sexual and violent offences and numerous breaches of probation and recognizance orders,” the release said.

Any form of vigilante activity or harassment against Smith “will not be tolerated,” the release said.