City police have launched a homicide investigation after a daytime slaying inside a North End apartment Tuesday.
Officers deployed a tactical unit and a drone to the two-storey brick apartment block at 675 Selkirk Ave., around 3 p.m. after receiving reports that gunshots had been fired, the Winnipeg Police Service said.
Police blocked off Selkirk Avenue at McGregor Street to Parr Street in both directions before entering the building, where they found a 40-year-old man seriously injured. He was transported to hospital in critical condition, but later died, the WPS said.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Kingsley Murray Bruce was found seriously injured at the building on Selkirk Avenue on Tuesday and later died in hospital.
Video from the scene, obtained by the Free Press, showed multiple paramedics and firefighters — some dressed in body armour — using a white tarp to carry a body out of the building.
One witness said he watched first responders perform CPR on the person and had a “sinking feeling that the man was fighting for his life.”
“You could sort of tell he was beyond help. They put him on the stretcher and into an ambulance,” said the man, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Police identified the victim as Kingsley Murray Bruce, 40, a member of Poplar River First Nation who has been living in Winnipeg.
The WPS has revealed few details about the incident.
“Our office has been working with the investigators to put together further information for the public,” WPS Const. Dani McKinnon said in an email.
“At this stage, police (are) involved in an investigation in this area, and there is not risk to public safety. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide additional details.”
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
A forensic unit was on scene at the apartment Wednesday. Police used caution tape to cordon off an area near the building’s eastern side entrance and stood watch as investigators placed yellow evidence markers in the snow.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
A Winnipeg Police Service forensic unit was at the apartment building on Wednesday.
The owner of a nearby business said he was contacted by detectives Tuesday night, who asked to review surveillance footage from his property’s security cameras. After watching the video, investigators told him they found what they were looking for and left, he said.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 204-986-6508, or report a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online at winnipegcrimestoppers.org
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.