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Winnipeg police fatally shot a man at a home just off St. Anne’s Road early Friday morning, after reports of a domestic dispute in the presence of children.
Winnipeg police Chief Gene Bowers confirmed “multiple children” were inside the home when the fatal shooting occurred.
“My thoughts are with those who were inside the residence, especially the children,” he told media at a news conference Friday afternoon. “What they witnessed, I can’t speak to.”
At about 1:30 a.m., officers were called to a housing complex on Morrow Avenue, a few blocks south of the St. Anne’s Road and Fermor Avenue intersection, after reports of a domestic incident.
Initial information suggested there were concerns about an armed man acting violently in the presence of children, according to a news release from the Winnipeg Police Service on Friday.
Officers arrived to find a 26-year-old man armed with a weapon, according to the release. Police then shot the man.
Officers on scene provided first aid before the man was rushed to hospital in critical condition. He died of his injuries.
Two police cruisers parked outside the site where the shooting occurred Friday morning. (Alana Cole/CBC)
An area was taped off when CBC News arrived hours after the shooting. A reporter saw a woman and three kids exiting a suite with police before 9 a.m.
Chief Bowers called the details of the incident a “solemn reminder” of the work of police officers and the “split-second, life and death” decisions they face.
“Our officers do not come to work at the start of their day planning to take a life,” he said. “It is the last thing they ever want to do, but sometimes it’s a sad reality of police work.”
He said the man was known to police.
Bowers said Indigenous people were involved in the incident, but did not provide more detail. He has reached out to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak to advise them of the shooting in an attempt to ensure the woman and children at the home are supported.
One of the officers on scene was wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting.
That footage will be turned over to the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba as it takes over the investigation, said Bowers.
The IIU is mandated to investigate all serious incidents involving police in the province.
“This is a tragic event for everybody involved,” said Bowers.