A 19-year-old named Afolabi Stephen Opaso passed away following a police shooting over the weekend.
According to reports, the police were summoned in response to concerns about the well-being of a potentially armed individual displaying erratic behavior at an apartment complex located at 77 University Cres around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 31, 2023.
CBC News relayed that officers arrived at one of the units where they encountered a man along with two other individuals. This information comes from the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which released a statement confirming its ongoing inquiry into the incident.
It is reported that Stephen was armed with two knives when police officers shot him, Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth told reporters during a Monday news conference. “The man was inside of a suite in the apartment with a 19-year-old woman and man, 21, Smyth said, adding the three appeared to know each other — although it’s not clear whether the man who died was a resident or visitor at the apartment. The other two people in the suite are safe and now considered witnesses, he said.
The call to police was made by someone in the suite, but police do not believe it was a hostage situation, Smyth said. “I don’t get that sense from the original information, but the caller was quite concerned.”
A statement released by the Winnipeg police reads in part, “On December 31, 2023, at approximately 2:22 p.m., the Winnipeg Police Service responded to an apartment suite in the first 100 block of University Crescent for a 911 call regarding a male acting erratically. The caller advised the male may be armed and there were other people in the suite.
