Tuesday shooting adds to soaring homicide rate By: Ryan Thorpe Posted: 6:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2019

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/03/2019 (2019 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man was gunned down in Winnipeg’s West End early Tuesday, marking the city’s eighth homicide of the year and third in the past 10 days.

During the first two and a half months of 2019, Winnipeg has averaged a homicide roughly once every nine days, a fact that has kept Winnipeg Police Service investigators pulling lengthy shifts in an effort to close cases.

Of the 22 homicides investigated last year, only three involved firearms. This year, five of eight stem from gun violence

“We’re on pace for 42 (homicides in 2019) and we had 22 last year. Our eighth homicide last year was May 29, now it’s March 12. Obviously, there’s a difference there,” said WPS spokesman Const. Jay Murray.

Perhaps most concerning of all, this year’s slayings have seen a sharp uptick in shooting deaths. Of the 22 homicides investigated last year, only three involved firearms. This year, five of eight stem from gun violence.

While police have yet to release the identity of Tuesday’s victim, multiple sources confirmed to the Free Press the deceased was Brett Anthony Cadieux, born 1995, who was recently engaged to a fiancée who was pregnant.

Police responded to the scene of the shooting on the 1300 block of Ellice Avenue, a commercial area home to many businesses and hotels, at 1:15 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found a man suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The preliminary investigation into the incident indicates the “attack was not random in nature”, said police. The Free Press has learned from sources that Cadieux owed significant amounts of money to multiple parties in Winnipeg and had previous gang ties – although police have not confirmed if they’re classifying the incident as a gang shooting.

A significant police presence, including the WPS identification unit, remained on scene throughout Tuesday, forcing traffic re-routes. Ellice Avenue was taped off between Strathcona Street and Empress Street.

Evidence tags could be seen along Ellice Avenue outside the parking lot of Garbonzo’s Pizza Pub, as well as in the parking lot of the nearby Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriot Winnipeg. The Free Press was told investigators spoke to staff and guests at the hotel and also accessed surveillance footage.

This latest shooting death continues a concerning trend of increased gun violence on the streets of Winnipeg, Murray said.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in firearms that have been seized from year to year… preliminary information is that in 2018 we seized 1,714 guns. It’s a significant number,” Murray said.

“I know many executive members, including the chief, have stood up on the podium and talked about the increase in gun violence in the city… There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t review the last 24 hours and see that officers are taking firearms off the street.”

At a press conference Tuesday, Murray recounted an anecdote from a member of the WPS homicide unit that highlights the toll the city’s current spate of slayings has taken on the men and women tasked with investigating them.

The officer was walking out of the WPS headquarters after a 10-hour shift when he got word the final suspect in another recent homicide had been arrested. That forced him to turn around and head back inside for additional work.

As soon as he was finished dealing with the latest arrest and preparing to head home, word came into the WPS headquarters that a man had been shot on Ellice Avenue.

“By the time I met with him this morning, he’d been at work for over 24 hours. It’s incredibly tough when you don’t get to see your family, when you don’t get that consistent sleep,” Murray said.

“It’s probably draining on those homicide investigators. At the same time, we recognize that’s what they signed up to do and I think they’re very proud of the work they do.”

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: rk_thorpe