Winnipeg police continue to investigate a harrowing carjacking incident that took place Saturday evening near Grant Park Shopping Centre.
Police said they received calls around 5 p.m. from several witnesses who said they saw a woman jump from a moving vehicle near Grant Avenue and Wilton Street, and that the woman had been the victim of a carjacking.
Officers found the victim, in her 20s, who was taken to hospital in stable condition.
Police said they believe the woman had been parked in the 1200 block of Grant when a man got into her vehicle — which was later found abandoned on Carter Street — and attacked her.
The suspect has been described as between 23 and 35 years old and six feet tall with a medium, stocky build and a shaved head.
Another carjacking was reported to police the next night just before 11 p.m.
Police said the incident, which happened near Cumberland Avenue and Carlton Street earlier Sunday evening, involved a victim being approached by armed suspects who initially asked if he had a cigarette.
The suspects, a man in his 30s and a woman between 25-30, pulled a gun and knife on the victim and stole some of his personal property before driving off in his vehicle.
The victim wasn’t physically injured, and the stolen vehicle was later recovered in the 100 block of Garry Street.
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call police 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
According to numbers released by police, in the first four months of 2022, Winnipeg reported 59 carjackings — putting the city on pace for 177 this year.
Last year, the total was 125 — and increase from only 50 five years earlier, and from only 19 a decade ago.
Cst. Jay Murray said Monday that carjackings aren’t exclusive to any areas of the city — they can happen wherever there are cars.
“Anywhere you have a large concentration of individuals, whether it’s outside a mall, or anywhere lots of vehicles tend to congregate, these type of incidents can happen,” he said.
“Without an arrest, it’s tough to speculate on a motive. We often see people steal vehicles to commit other crimes or as a method of transportation.”