Family of 19-year-old international student killed by police seeking answers
The family of an international student killed in Winnipeg over the weekend is desperate for answers, after the 19-year-old Nigerian man was shot and killed by police inside a Fort Richmond apartment.
University of Manitoba student Afolabi Stephen Opaso was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of the shooting, said a lawyer who is assisting the man’s family and has been in contact witnesses of the shooting.
“We haven’t got all the details yet,” Jean-René Dominique Kwilu said. “The family is overwhelmed, so talking to them right now is challenging because every time they are crying and upset. We are just trying to get more answers, more information.”
The apartment tower at 77 University Cres.. where a person was shot by police on Sunday. (John Woods / Wnnipeg Free Press)
Police responded to a call from someone inside an apartment suite at 77 University Cres. around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The caller told police a man was armed and acting erratically, Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth told reporters during a news conference Monday.
Two officers went to the apartment building and found a man wielding two knives inside the suite, Smyth said.
“Our officers, moments later, were involved in a use-of-force encounter that resulted in the male being shot by one of our officers,” he said.
Opaso was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries.
Police have not said whether the man attempted to attack police.
Kwilu said he has interviewed eye witnesses present at the time of the shooting, who have concerns about police actions leading up to the shooting.
“Based on different eyewitnesses I was able to gather, basically he was having a mental health incident. Somebody called for help and indicated to the dispatcher that a person was in need of help and it was a mental health issue,” Kwilu said.
“At this point we need more answers, more clarity as to how a normal call for help for someone who is having a mental health episode would lead to them being shot…
“The family is just confused as to why it got to the point where he would get shot,” Kwilu said.
Opaso has no family in Canada. His parents are in Nigeria and his older sister lives in Texas, the lawyer said.
“There needs to be an autopsy, of course,” Kwilu said. “Once that is conducted and the coroner’s office is ready to release the body, then we can start with all the funeral arrangements.”
Smyth said the 19-year-old was known to police through an encounter last July when police gave him a ride, but he has no criminal record. Police have not released the name of the man.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has taken over the investigation.
A 21-year-old man and 19-year-old woman were inside the suite at the time of the shooting, police said.
The pair are uninjured and now considered witnesses. The three were known to each other, Smyth said.
The deadly incident marks the second time police have shot and killed a suspect in one week.
On Friday, police announced the death of a 52-year-old man, who they say was holding a 19-year-old woman hostage when he was shot multiple times in a Manitoba Housing complex at 25 Furby St. Thursday afternoon.
Smyth said the Sunday incident did not appear to be a hostage situation.
“Very different events, very different circumstances for both of them. Clearly, they’re not related but we go to thousands of calls every week and we just deal with what we have,” Smyth said Monday.
Police had no updates on the Furby shooting investigation as of Monday afternoon.
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’ city desk. Since joining the paper in 2022, he has found himself driving through blizzards, documenting protests and scouring the undersides of bridges for potential stories.
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Credit: Family of 19-year-old international student killed by police seeking answers
