Vigil held for 12-year-old killed in 'exceptionally troubling' stabbing

About 25 people turned out Sunday afternoon to a makeshift roadside memorial to pay tribute to a 12-year-old boy killed in a violent altercation in north-central Winnipeg.

Teddy bears and flowers were left on a tree on the median of Burrows Avenue, not far from where the boy was stabbed Friday evening. A note encouraged people to light a candle in memory of the boy.

The vigil saw those gathered pay tribute to the boy as traditional Indigenous drumming and song filled the air. They declined to speak to media.

Police provided no update Sunday into their investigation into the stabbing, which they say has "exceptionally troubling" details. Neither arrests nor charges have been announced.

• 12-year-old Winnipeg boy killed in Friday night stabbing, police say

Two groupsgot into an altercation and the boy was stabbed. An off-duty nurse who police described as a Good Samaritan helped officers care for the boy until an ambulance arrived. The boy was rushed to hospital, where he died.

It's not known whether the groups knew each other.

The boy's death marks Winnipeg's 18th homicide of 2021. It's also the 11th in just over a month.

Anyone with information about the stabbing is asked to call investigators at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.