Wildfire evacuees report having gun pointed at them outside Winnipeg hotel, MKO says

Winnipeg police are investigating a report that three wildfire evacuees had a gun pulled on them early Friday morning.

The allegations were raised at a news conference held jointly by Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, where they said the men tried to intervene in what they believed was an abduction.

Coun. Shirley Castel from the First Nation said three young men who recently escaped the northern community because of wildfires, reported seeing a woman being knocked unconscious and brought into a vehicle outside of a hotel on Notre Dame Avenue between between Valour Road and Midland Street.

She said the men tried to help but were confronted by a gun-wielding man, between the age of 50 and 60 with white hair and a beard, who said he would shoot them if they didn't get out of his way.

"I commend them for their bravery of trying to intervene," Castel said at the news conference.

She said the men were quick-thinking and managed to snap a picture of the woman, and provided a description of the man's vehicle and licence plate number to police.

It's not clear if the woman is also from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation as none of the men recognized her.

Const. Claude Chancy with the public information office said police did a well-being check on Notre Dame Avenue between Valour Road and Midland Street at about 5:30 a.m.

He said the police don't have enough information to classify the incident as an abduction at this point.

"We're praying for the safety of this young woman," Castel said.

MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee said he called Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth to ensure officers are taking the situation seriously.

"We wanted to make sure someone was actively involved because this is a life-and-death situation. That's why I called him personally," Settee said.

"It's really disturbing, it's really scary, so that's why we wanted to make sure someone was listening and that something's being done."

Protecting young evacuees

Although it's not clear what happened to the woman or where she's from, MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee says it's very concerning that something like this could happen outside a hotel where vulnerable people are staying.

"We want to protect our young women. They are vulnerable. We cannot expose them to any risks. We cannot expose them to an environment where they could be abducted or assaulted," he said.

Castel says it's stressful for community members to be scattered in multiple locations across the province, and not together in their tightly-knit First Nation.

"We knew that there would be safety concerns. I want to encourage our citizens to continue to watch out for one another. We come from an isolated community and we're so welcoming and open it puts a risk on our young people," she said.