Police chief says officers did a good job in search for Mackenzie Moonias
Police Chief Darcy Fleury says the tragic death of a 14-year-old youth from Neskantaga First Nation will be investigated “to its fullest.”
The body of Mackenzie (Nathan) Moonias was found Monday in the water at Marina Park.
The missing student from Matawa Education Centre was last seen alive on the morning of Dec.13 on University Drive, and was apparently reported missing on the evening of Friday the 15th.
The Thunder Bay Police Service released several missing person notices about her disappearance, with the first being issued about 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
After her body was discovered, Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias said “It is unacceptable that we continue to bring our youth home in coffins. We fully expect that Mackenzie’s death will not simply be ruled an accident before a thorough and competent investigation is conducted.”
NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler also said the youth’s disappearance had raised serious questions about the protocols and procedures around missing person investigations involving Indigenous youth.
“We are extremely concerned that gaps in the process for reporting missing persons, identified through the Seven Youth Inquest, are apparently still at play when Indigenous youth are reported missing,” the two leaders said in a joint statement Monday.
Responding Tuesday to questions about the First Nations’ leaders concerns, Fleury said “I think what happens is, you know, they have a position, they have an idea of how things should operate. And of course we are going through the process of the investigation. First of all, the search, and the discovery, the recovery. So we’re going through that and then on to the investigation.”
He added “I can assure everybody…I’ll say it again and again and again. I have seen really good quality work by our teams. With this event here, we had from the moment that she was reported missing, from the moment we took the report, we started our search immediately and we worked that entire evening and night, that morning, early morning, and then into the investigative stages the following morning. So we did a really good job as far as doing that piece, and concentrating on the areas where we understood that potentially she might have been, as well as searching other areas.”
The police chief said he believes it’s crucial for community stakeholders to continue to communicate with each other.
“I have expressed to their leadership that we have to continue with that, and maybe some of the messaging that we can work together to get that messaging out there, so that we’re sharing the same messaging, and there’s not any confusion from it.”
Fleury said the investigation into Mackenzie Moonias’ death will be complete and that “at the end of the day, [we’ll] see where the results take us.” – Tbnewswatch.com
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Winnipeg police searching for male suspect in fatal stabbing of Indigenous teen
A vigil was held Monday evening in honour of a 14-year-old Indigenous girl who was stabbed to death last week.
Family, friends and the community gathered to mourn and remember the teen who was attacked and stabbed downtown Friday afternoon.
“Every time I hear of another woman, girl, two-spirit person, Indigenous person, being lost, it’s very heart-wrenching, heartbreaking. It happens too frequently, it’s happening too much,” said Heidi Spence, the director of the MKO MMIWG Liaison Unit, who added it is especially hard to hear the news considering how young the girl was.
She said she was at the vigil to show support for all who knew the girl.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, police Chief Danny Smyth said investigators are looking for three people.
“We are currently looking for a male suspect and two other young female witnesses that the victim was with before the attack,” said Smyth.
He said the attack was very unexpected.
“One of the young people she was with suddenly turned on her and stabbed her,” said Smyth.
Police are not naming the girl because under the Youth Criminal Justice Act police are not allowed to identify the victim or potential suspects. But they noted she lived in Winnipeg and had been reported missing on a number of occasions.
Investigators believe the girl knew the person who attacked her.
Smyth said when officers arrived at the scene Friday, the girl was treated with a chest seal before the ambulance arrived.
She was taken to hospital and underwent emergency surgery, but died from her injuries.
Police said three people ran from the scene before officers arrived.
EXPERTS CALLING FOR MORE SUPPORTS FOR YOUTH
Experts say the brazen daytime stabbing speaks to the lack of support and services in place to tackle youth crime and violence.
“We really need to double, triple down, on preventative measures, if you want to see any progress or eradication on this level of violence,” said Melanie Murchison, who is a criminology and sociology instructor at the University of Manitoba.
Some preventive measures being put forward by community advocates include funding recreational programs.
“If there’s something interesting for (kids) to do, they’ll do it. If not, they’ll be wandering around downtown with knives in the afternoon instead of going to school,” said Sel Burrows, a crime prevention advocate.
Kent Dueck, the executive director and founder of Inner City Youth Alive, said spots for support for youth are scarce.
“At the very time that we’re seeing an increase in crime, we’re reducing the space where people, young people who are caught up in violence, can be contained and cared for,” said Dueck.
Smyth said police have increased their presence downtown, but experts feel more needs to be done.
“You can put more boots on the ground, but that money is going to be much more better spent investing in our youth and investing in resources that can support them going forward,” said Murchison. – CTV News
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Winnipeg police arrest 17-year-old boy in fatal stabbing of teen girl downtown
Police arrest teen boy in fatal stabbing
Police have charged a teen boy in the stabbing death of a 14-year-old Indigenous girl last week.
A 17-year-old boy is facing second-degree murder charges and is in custody, they said in a news release Tuesday.
The girl was with a group, including the accused, on Friday afternoon when she was stabbed a block away from police headquarters and near a busy corner of downtown Winnipeg.
Police said the victim was with two females and a male she knew when she got into a verbal argument with the accused.
Investigators allege the accused pulled a knife on the girl and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing.
Officers who responded to the stabbing found the teen in the entrance of a building and applied a chest seal while they waited for an ambulance to arrive, police have said.
She underwent emergency surgery, but didn’t survive.
Officers identified and found the suspect in the St. Boniface neighbourhood on Monday.Premier Wab Kinew offered his condolences to “those involved in this tragic event” in a social media post after the charge was announced.
“Violence among our youth has to stop,” he said. “We need to protect them and put them on a path to success so that more youth can reach their 18th birthday.” – Toronto Star
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There is definitely something wrong when this can happen twice on what seems like the same day in two different cities. Both cities are always vying for the honour of being named the murder capital of Canada.
Investigations need to go to where it all begins. Communities and families. Parents. What is going on in those reserves? Start there. This is not normal.