Hitchhiker who allegedly stabbed driver fatally shot by Manitoba RCMP
Driver who was stabbed taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, RCMP say
A hitchhiker who allegedly stabbed the driver who picked him up was shot and killed by police officers on Wednesday, Manitoba RCMP say.
Mounties were called around 9 a.m. with a report of a stabbing off of Highway 16 in Westbourne, about 100 kilometres west of Winnipeg, police said in a news release.
Investigators believe the man who was driving and a female passenger picked up the hitchhiker, who was walking on the highway.
The hitchhiker then reportedly attacked the driver without provocation, stabbing him. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road, and the hitchhiker ran away.
The driver is currently in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Several officers from the detachments in Portage la Prairie, Amaranth and Neepawa immediately responded, along with police dog services, the RCMP release said.
Shortly after, police got a tip about a suspicious man attempting to enter vehicles a short distance down the highway, at the junction of Highway 50.
Police found the man and saw he was carrying a knife, RCMP say.
A confrontation ensued and one of the officers shot the man, police said. The release did not provide any other details on the nature of the confrontation prior to the shooting.
Officers provided first aid until local paramedics arrived, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say no information about the man who was shot will be released until he is identified and his next of kin are notified.
Manitoba's Independent Investigation Unit — which is mandated to investigate all serious incidents involving police in the province — has been notified of the shooting and is taking over the investigation, while RCMP continue to investigate the stabbing.
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