Winnipeg Police shot and killed suspect

A Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) officer is recovering after being stabbed in the neck Sunday evening.

The incident took place near a bus booth at Unicity shopping centre.

Police said officers were in the area as part of an attempted WPS retail theft. Then, just after 5 p.m., an emergency message came from the mall’s plainclothes unit to the police communications center.

They reported an officer was stabbed in the throat and a male suspect was shot. “This is a message we never, ever want to receive,” said Acting Chief Art Stannard.

The injured police officer, a senior member of the WPS, was taken to hospital. Stannard said he visited the officer and his wife in the hospital Sunday evening.

“His wife was there and she was extremely emotional,” Stannard recalled. “He is in a good condition and they are treating him very well. I can say that his condition is stable and he will most likely be released.”

Details about what led to the stabbing and subsequent shooting are limited.

Police said they were taking care of the man at the shelter. Police allege that during their interaction, the suspect stabbed one of the officers in the throat with a sharp-edged weapon. Officers said they told the man to drop his gun and officers fired their weapons a short time later.

Police said the male suspect has not yet been identified and the investigation is still in its early stages.

Stannard said he was aware videos of the incident had been posted online, but cautioned that they did not show the officers’ full interaction with the suspect.

“I worry that this only shows a fraction of the interaction,” Stannard said. “There was a front part that wasn’t visible on the video yet, and I don’t want the public to just react to that part of it. I want them to wait until the entire investigation is over.”

Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) was notified and assumed responsibility for the investigation.