The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at the Gimli detachment saw quite a bit of action in July with an arson in Hnausa that destroyed a family home, several vehicle thefts in communities within the service’s catchment area and a shooting in Riverton.
RCMP media relations officer Sgt. Paul Manaigre said last Thursday that the house fire in Hnausa in the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton is being investigated as an arson after video images were made available showing a suspect near the home.
“The photos show the garage and seconds later it looks like the suspect threw a Molotov cocktail or something like that and we see quite the flame,” said Manaigre. “It also shows someone running away at 4:30 in the morning. I’m pretty comfortable calling that an arson.”
The Gimli detachment received the report of the fire on July 30 at 4:35 a.m. It’s believed the fire started in the garage.
The homeowners were in the dwelling at the time of the fire, but no injuries were reported.
A relative posted photos and information on social media saying the fire was the result of arson.
“A trail cam in the yard captured pictures of this low life setting the house on fire, all while my parents were asleep inside,” says the post. “My parents made it out and are safe, but there is nothing left of my childhood home.”
The Express reached out to the family for comment through a friend, but did not hear back from them.
Other crime news:
- There were a number of reports of vehicles being stolen in the Gimli RCMP catchment area in July, said Manaigre, who went through the detachment’s reports to provide the Express with details of what had transpired.
Although there has been of late considerable media attention given to newer vehicles being stolen and shipped overseas, the vehicles reported stolen in the detachment’s area are mostly older vehicles.
Manaigre said it was somewhat surprising to see smaller cars being reported stolen as it’s typically trucks in the countryside. The vehicles include a Chevy Impala, a Pontiac Sunfire, a 2006 Grand Prix, a 2003 Mustang, a 2004 Ford pick-up truck, as well as a utility trailer and a quad.
“You’ll see more of that kind of theft [newer vehicles] in Winnipeg and in bigger cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Outside Winnipeg it’s not a huge concern that people are looking for a vehicle worth around $80,000 to ship overseas. But to say that doesn’t happen in this region of the Interlake, I can’t say for sure,” said Manaigre. “The vehicle thefts in the area covered by the Gimli detachment are thefts of opportunity. If someone commits a crime somewhere, they’ll steal a vehicle to get from point A to point B then dump it.”
Manaigre said it’s common in the country for people to leave their vehicle’s doors unlocked and store the keys in the vehicle because they don’t think they’ll be a victim of crime.
“A lot of times if the vehicle is locked, [the would-be thief] will go elsewhere,” he said.
The theft of an older model pickup truck in Arborg on July 30 resulted in the Gimli RCMP nabbing the suspect.
“He was labelled a prolific offender. He is a 28-year-old male from the Gimli area. He was arrested and charged with the theft of a 2004 Ford F350, which is a one-ton truck,” said Manaigre. “He was also remanded into custody on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking – I guess the officers found drugs – and for possessing break-in instruments.”
The best thing people can do to deter vehicle theft is to keep their vehicles locked and never leave the keys in the vehicle, said Manaigre. The Gimli detachment doesn’t get a lot of reports of smashed windows, so it’s likely the thieves will decide to move on to an easier target.
And no matter where people live in the country, crime can happen, he added. With rural communities expanding, crime is sure to follow because “crime is part of the trend when you see communities getting bigger.”
To help themselves and their communities, people should always report theft or other crimes to the RCMP because that helps the police service profile an area to determine potential crime trends and pockets of activity.
“In the country, there’s a strong possibility there could be more incidents, but people aren’t reporting them to the police. No matter what it is, let us know. There could be one area where someone was rummaging through vehicles at five different homes. But if nothing was stolen, people don’t report it. If this is happening at multiple locations, it becomes a concern. And if we have all those reports and we arrest someone a week later, we might be able to [trace that back to the suspect],” he said. “Sometimes we can’t solve it, but it’s good to know where the problem lies because rural detachments do look at the data, these reports of someone having gone through cars late at night.”
People can report crimes to the Gimli RCMP detachment at (204) 642-5106 or use the online crime reporting portal on the detachment’s website. The detachment is located at 6 Centennial Rd. in Gimli at the junction of Highway 9.
Shooting in Riverton
The RCMP issued a news release on July 31 regarding a shooting that took place in Riverton.
At about 10:50 p.m. on July 28, the Gimli RCMP received a report of shots fired at a residence in Riverton.
“Officers attended and were informed that four male suspects, one of them armed with a firearm, had entered a home in Riverton where they confronted two adult males,” states the news release. “An altercation took place resulting in the firearm being discharged.”
A 44-year-old male from Lynn Lake was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries where he remains in stable condition and the other victim, a 33-year-old male from Riverton, was not injured, states the release. The incident is under investigation.
The Gimli RCMP is asking anyone with information to contact them at (204) 642-5106. People can also share information through Crime Stopper’s secure tip service at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com or call (anonymously) Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
