Trail of shocking, bloody violence ends in mall parking lot days after carjacking horror Elderly woman critically hurt, two men stabbed after failed break-in attempt, footchase in Grant Park area By: Erik Pindera Posted: 12:46 PM CDT Wednesday, Jul. 13, 2022

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This article was published 12/07/2022 (850 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just three days after a woman jumped out of her moving vehicle during a terrifying broad-daylight carjacking in the Grant Park Shopping Centre parking lot, nearby residents were forced to deal with more shocking, random violence Tuesday evening.

An 84-year-old woman remained in critical condition Wednesday after undergoing surgery to repair wounds suffered in a vicious stabbing at about 9 p.m. while walking near the intersection of Lorette Avenue and Thurso Street, two blocks from the mall.

A 15-year-old Winnipeg teen is charged in the attack, which occurred while he was being chased on foot by two men after a failed break-in attempt at a nearby home owned by one of them. The pursuit ended in the mall’s parking lot, where both men suffered stab wounds while subduing the suspect, Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said.

Officers responding to reports of multiple stabbings were assisted by the WPS helicopter and found the 43- and 46-year-old victims and the suspect in the lot before locating the woman who’d been attacked.

Neighbours rushed to help the seriously wounded woman as she lay bleeding on the sidewalk.

Maria Kusumoto, 74, was in her Lorette Avenue home when she saw someone trying to get through her yard’s locked gate, and then jumping a fence into a neighbour’s yard. She went outside and saw a big “commotion” at the corner.

“I went to see and there was this lady on the ground, stabbed. I saw she had white hair and found out she was 84 years old,” said Kusumoto, motioning toward the sidewalk where blood was still visible at midday Wednesday.

A neighbour was applying pressure to the woman’s wounds and his wife was on the phone with 911, Kusumoto said, but it took a long time for an ambulance to arrive.

“Imagine yourself being hurt and no help coming,” she said.

Gord Harris, 60, has lived on Lorette Avenue since 1985.

“It’s an 84-year-old lady walking down the street, didn’t even have a purse, he wasn’t trying to rob her — just senseless violence,” he said, adding his wife witnessed the initial chase and attack on the woman.

“This is very surprising — this is a super quiet neighbourhood.”

The Winnipeg youth arrested at the scene faces two counts each of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and mischief under $5,000, and one count each of assault with a weapon and break and enter with intent. He in custody.

Chancy said officers recovered two “edged weapons” at the scene, adding the victims did not know the suspect.

Harris said he’s frustrated with the youth criminal justice system.

“The kid’s just going to keep doing the same thing, because there’s no recourse…. It’ll be on your record until you’re 18,” he said, slapping his wrist for emphasis.

The violence follows Saturday’s carjacking in the same parking lot. The victim, a woman in her 20s, was parked when she was confronted by a man who got into the vehicle and assaulted her.

The victim, who was taken to hospital in stable condition, later took to social media to share her story and photos of her injuries. In her online post, she said she had to jump from the vehicle as the suspect sped off.

The vehicle was later found nearby in the 900 block of Carter Street.

Police describe the suspect as a man with tanned skin, 23-35 years old, approximately six feet tall with a medium stocky build, a shaved head and trimmed beard. He remains at large, Chancy said.

The shopping centre’s general manager, Graham Bialek, said his thoughts are with the victims.

“The safety and security of our community is the highest priority,” he said in a statement.

“The centre has already started to enhance its security policies and procedures, including increasing the security presence related to the exterior of the centre.”

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera