By The Canadian Press
The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police “E” Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday, April 13, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
UPDATE: Thursday, December 16 — The deceased has been identified as a 31-year-old man from Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation.
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WESTBOURNE, Man. — Manitoba RCMP say a hitchhiker who stabbed a driver has been shot and killed by police.
Police say officers responded to a report of a stabbing around 8:50 a.m. off of Highway 16 in Westbourne, a community northwest of Portage la Prairie, Man.
An investigation has determined that a male driver and his female passenger picked up the hitchhiker on the highway.
Police say the male hitchhiker reportedly attacked and stabbed the driver, who was able to pull over to the side of the road.
They say the hitchhiker fled on foot and a short time later officers received a call about a man attempting to enter vehicles at the junction of Highway 16 and Highway 50.
When they located the suspect, police say there was a confrontation and the man was shot by an officer.
“Officers immediately provided first aid until local emergency medical services arrived,” police said in a news release Wednesday.
“The suspect, however, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene.”
Police said no further information is being released about the man because they were still trying to identify him and notify his family.
They said an edged weapon was recovered at the scene.
Police said the male driver who was stabbed is in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Manitoba RCMP continue to investigate the stabbing, while the police shooting will be investigated by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba.
