Winnipeg police secure a crime scene where multiple people were killed at a Langside Street address in Winnipeg on Nov. 26.David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press
Winnipeg police say three people are dead and two others remain in critical condition following a shooting inside a downtown rooming house early Sunday morning.
Officers arrived at a Langside Street address around 4:05 a.m. to find a grisly scene: a man and a woman dead, alongside three other injured people – all with apparent gunshot wounds.
One of the three injured people later died in hospital. A male and a female victim remain in critical condition, said Winnipeg Police spokesman Constable Jason Michalyshen, who provided no further detail about the deceased or the suspects.
“There are no arrests at this point that I’m acknowledging,” he told reporters during an afternoon press conference. “The investigation, again, is still in its early stages and we’re doing our very best to determine exactly what’s taken place.”
“I can’t give a number to how many people, whether it’s one or more individuals involved,” he added.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham called the multiple homicide “shocking and disturbing” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Acts of violence like this are a troubling reminder that there is still too much violent crime, and too much gun-related crime in our city,” he wrote. “It’s critical we work with the provincial and federal governments and community partners to strengthen our approach to public safety.
David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press
Officers canvassed the 100 block of Langside Street throughout the morning, asking for witnesses and security camera footage.
Several residents at an apartment building next door to the crime scene said they remained asleep until officers from across the city showed up.
The address under investigation, 143 Langside St., is a three-storey home with six rental units that go for as low as $445 a month and share bathrooms, according to an online posting.
Langside Street was once known for violence, earning the monikers Gangside and Murder’s Half Acre – and the house at 143 Langside St. played a supporting role. In 1998, a man suffered stab wounds to his head and back during an altercation at the address, according to local news reports. And in 2010, police shot and killed a former biker after he robbed the house.
Neighbours said that the street has undergone a revitalization in recent years and shed its past reputation, but that the rooming house represented a piece of the old Langside.
A woman who’s lived on Langside for 20 years said that home seemed to be cursed, continually attracting problem tenants despite improvements along the rest of the street. She said she felt badly for the people who owned it, and that otherwise, it was a great neighbourhood.
David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press
Patrick White