Portage Avenue homicide victim ID’d as Cyril Weenusk

WINNIPEG — More than a day after a violent attack left one dead in Winnipeg’s city centre, police have released the victim’s identification.

Cyril Quentin Weenusk, 26, died from an altercation with a group of people in the area of Portage Avenue and Donald Street early Tuesday morning, police said.

When police arrived on scene around 4 a.m., Weenusk, from Oxford House, Man., was rushed to hospital and later died.

“The altercation turned violent and proved fatal,” Winnipeg police said in a media release.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The altercation turned violent and proved fatal," Winnipeg police said in a media release.

Winnipeg police also confirmed no weapons were used during the attack.

READ MORE: Winnipeg police investigate downtown homicide

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A pile of clothing could been seen lying on the sidewalk beside a bus shelter in front of MTS Centre Tuesday morning. Police were also guarding a second scene behind Mountain Equipment Co-Op. Both were inside a massive section of the downtown that police had cordoned off for more than eight hours during the investigation.

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Police said the investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been made.

“I want to assure everyone the investigation is progressing,” said Const. Carver. “This isn’t a situation where people need to be worried about going downtown. This isn’t a random event.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I want to assure everyone the investigation is progressing," said Const. Carver. "This isn't a situation where people need to be worried about going downtown. This isn't a random event."

Sources told Global News the victim is not a part of the city’s homeless community and the attack may have been provoked.

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Yet, without a lot of information being released to the public from police officials, Winnipeggers are uneasy and full of speculation.

“You don’t know what happened or who it happened to,” said one man. “We don’t know what we are supposed to be afraid of or scared of.”

Another woman said, “It’s an unexplainable (sic) feeling when you don’t know what’s going on (or) what’s happening.”

Police said they want to assure the public there is no reason to feel unsafe and they hope to be able to alleviate any speculations people may have in due time.

“I understand those concerns and I wish I could give a more detailed answer,” said Const. Carver. “In this particular incident it’s not giving investigators any indication that random people downtown should be concerned.”