'I knew he was going to die': Saskatoon police investigating 14th homicide of 2019

Residents in Saskatoon's Massey Place neighbourhood were woken up by someone yelling "call 911," following a fight in the parking lot of a strip mall that left a 27-year-old man dead.

City police are investigating Saskatoon's 14th homicide of 2019 after the altercation in the parking lot outside the North Mile Restaurant and Pub on Northumberland Avenue, where police were called shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday.

When they arrived, they found a 27-year-old man who had been injured. He was taken to hospital but died a short time later.

A news release issued by police on Saturday afternoon said two people have been charged in connection to this incident. A 26-year-old man has been charged with second degree murder, and a 33-year-old man has been charged with accessory after the fact to aggravated assault.

Both are set to appear before a justice of the peace to face those charges.

This year is now the deadliest in Saskatoon's history. The previous record for the most homicides in one year was set in 2018, when police investigated 13 homicides.

Arron Pittner, who lives across the street from the North Mile, says he witnessed the attack while having a smoke on Saturday morning. He says he saw two men yelling at one another, with one of the men eventually stabbing the other.

"After he got stabbed, he walked from the parking lot toward the entrance, probably to get help, and collapsed right outside of the entrance to the bar," Pittner said, noting that's when he got his shoes on and walked over to the parking lot to see if he could help.

The scene in the parking lot ahead of the stabbing was chaos, he said, with what he estimates to be 40 people in the area, noting the crowd resembled a "mosh pit."

"I knew he was dead the second I saw him. I knew he was going to die," he said. "I think he had two chest wounds — I can't be exactly sure, but that's where the blood was coming from."

Pittner said the man was bleeding "profusely" and barely breathing as three or four people tried frantically to save him.

While Pittner said he's a fan of the pub and its selection of good food and drinks, he added it can attract some rough characters.

'Call 911'

Hyeonah Heo, who lives in the same apartment block as Pittner, said she woke up to the sounds of a crowd outside the pub.

"I woke up and went to the balcony and someone kept yelling, '911. Call 911' — like, crying, yelling," she said Saturday morning, still in her pyjamas. "After that, people kept on arguing." 

She also heard someone blaring a car horn over and over. She said police showed up 10 minutes later, adding she wasn't sure how many cars were on scene.

Surveillance footage obtained by CBC shows a crowd of people gathering outside the North Mile in the aftermath of the altercation. It also shows what appears to be a man lying on the ground, motionless, as other people gather around.

Bob Sekel — another resident of the apartment block, who had his hands full with a little one in each arm on Saturday morning — said the situation didn't surprise him, as brawls outside the bar are "fairly common."

"Pretty much every weekend, one, two, maybe three times throughout the night, there's always some kind of escalating problem," he said.

"So there was some screaming and profanities and then within 15 minutes of that happening, I closed the window because the kids were trying to sleep — cops, paramedics, all first responders were on scene."

He said he saw the man being taken into an ambulance, but couldn't see anything about his condition, as police had the section blocked off.

Sekel, who has been living in the building for roughly six months, said he's concerned for his family and their safety. One of his vehicles was vandalized in the neighbourhood and the convenience store nearby has also been robbed.

He said he'd like to see bylaws put in place that separate bars and other drinking establishments from operating so close to residential properties.

"It was really just a matter of time, I think, before something happened at that bar," he said.

Two people of interest have been taken into custody after a traffic unit spotted a car believed to be associated with the incident around 8 a.m. Saturday, police said.

They have not been charged.

Police say investigators are aware there were a number of people who witnessed the event, with some having recorded all or part of the incident. 

They're asking anyone with information or recording of this incident to contact Saskatoon police and ask to speak with major crimes. 

Anyone else with information about this incident is asked to contact Saskatoon police or Crime Stoppers.

The investigation is ongoing.