Shooting in Winnipeg's North End sends 1 person to hospital
Witness saw people running through neighbourhood with guns
One person was taken to hospital and another is in custody after a shooting in North End Winnipeg's William Whyte neighbourhood.
Police said they were called to an area near the intersection of McKenzie Street and Manitoba Avenue around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday
They found someone injured and in unstable condition and later took another person into custody. No charges have yet been laid.
The injured person has since been upgraded to stable condition, police said. No information on the age or sex of the victim, or the person in custody, has been provided by police.
Tre Delaronde saw part of the incident unfold and captured it on video from the open window of his home.
A group of people can be seen running near the corner of McKenzie and Manitoba streets before going out of frame of the video, which Delaronde showed to CBC News.
"They had a rifle and a shotgun," he said. "They were chasing somebody down Manitoba towards McGregor [Street]."
Four gunshots can be heard as the group runs back into the frame. One person can then be seen raising a shotgun and firing it, with the recoil knocking it out of their hand and into the snow. The shooter picks it up and runs off with the rest of the group.
"It was just a lot of drama that occurred out of nowhere. I just happened to have my phone beside me at the time it all went down and decided to record," said Delaronde, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 2007.
He says violence has always been a daily experience in the area but "it's at a concerning level."
WATCH | Gunshots caught on video:
"If I see people with guns, the first thing I want [is] to make sure that if anything's going to happen that I have it all documented," Delaronde said.
"We're sick and tired of our people killing each other and our people hurting each other like this, so it's time that we document this and bring truth and honesty to what we see."
Brandy Bobier runs Community Helpers Unite, an outreach organization in the city's North End,ans she says violence in the area has worsened, with drug addiction and poverty being at the root of the problem.
"Crack like meth has become an epidemic in Winnipeg for many years now and I think we're just starting to see the desperation of it right now," she said.
With the spike in street and gang violence, Bobier said there needs to be more open safe spaces for youth in Winnipeg.
Her organization recently opened the Rising Eagles Safe Space for Youth, a community centre with programming, mentorship and an inclusive space to openly talk with adults.
"What we've been hearing pretty consistently is that [youth are] feeling unheard … they're feeling like they don't have places that they can go to outside of their homes that are safe," Bobier said.
The lack of support systems for youth opens the door for them to be more in contact with gangs, where they get a sense of community, she said, but that comes hand-in-hand with access to drugs and weapons.
"A lot of the violent crime is happening at the hands of youth a lot more than it used to," Bobier said.
The last annual statistical report released by the Winnipeg Police Service in 2024 shows that youth crimes trended upward for the second consecutive year in 2023.
Winnipeg Police's major crimes unit has taken over the investigation of the William Whyte neighbourhood shooting and continues to interview people. Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 204-986-6219.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers by calling 204-786-8477 or through the organization's website.
