Police are searching for a suspect accused of slashing a man with a knife in the Burger King on Osborne Street on Tuesday morning.
Winnipeg Police Service patrol officers raced to the fast-food restaurant near Confusion Corner at about 10 a.m., where they found the victim bleeding from what WPS spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen described as a serious injury to the upper body.
Officers gave the victim first aid before paramedics transported him to hospital in critical condition, where he has since been upgraded to stable.
“Obviously, a very traumatic incident for the victim — our biggest concern — and thankfully, he’s in stable condition. Anyone who would have witnessed this incident, we definitely want to hear from them, if we haven’t spoken to them already,” Michalyshen said.
“It definitely would have been a traumatic incident to witness.”
The 45-year-old man was slashed with a knife, the Free Press has learned. When arrested, the suspect is expected to be charged with aggravated assault.
The victim and suspect, who ran from the scene before police arrived, knew each other. Michalyshen said the men were acquaintances who had a dispute before the attack.
“They weren’t complete strangers,” Michalyshen said. “There was a dispute or a conflict of some sort between them, for things to escalate to the degree that they did.”
He said the broad daylight assault was “incredibly” concerning.
“The next worse-case scenario would be that we’re acknowledging a homicide today, and thankfully we’re not,” Michalyshen said. “As to why this individual acted out to the extreme that they did, those are some of the million-dollar questions.”
Major crimes detectives have identified the suspect and are working on arresting him “sooner rather than later,” the WPS spokesman said, adding police don’t think the public is at danger while the suspect is at large.
“Unfortunately, the suspect did flee, but we’re pretty optimistic we’ll move this investigation forward, hopefully in the next couple of days.”
Police have not released the suspect’s name or description.
A sign taped to the entrance of the restaurant at 244 Osborne St. Tuesday evening said the dining room was closed and open for drive-thru. Earlier in the day, the restaurant was closed off with yellow crime scene tape as police and first responders worked at the scene.
A cleaner mopped pools of blood spattered on the floor of the eating area at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Blood-soaked napkins were visible near the counter as patches of blood dried outside the south entrance of the restaurant. Employees working in the drive-thru declined to comment Tuesday.
Major crimes detectives investigating the assault have asked anyone with information to call 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera reports for the city desk, with a particular focus on crime and justice.
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