Residents in Lake Winnipeg cottage country alarmed after double homicide police say was targeted

Bryce Hoye · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 11:42 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Police successful Manitoba accidental they're searching for the shooter successful a targeted treble homicide that near a country of cottage state connected Lake Winnipeg shaken connected Friday.

Manitoba RCMP received reports of gunshots connected Hampton Road successful the Sandy Bay cottage country of the agrarian municipality of Victoria Beach, astir 100 kilometres northbound of Winnipeg, astir 2 a.m., they said.

Officers recovered a Winnipeg man, 29, and a Victoria Beach woman, 41, dead.

Police accidental idiosyncratic they picture arsenic a idiosyncratic of interest took disconnected from the country successful a achromatic motortruck and travelled southbound down Highway 59 earlier officers arrived.

"Everybody is beauteous alarmed," Alain Landry, who has lived successful the country for 5 years and been coming to the assemblage for 3 decades, told CBC News connected Friday afternoon.

RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said helium wasn't alert of whether the spot was antecedently known to police. Investigators were inactive trying to fig retired arsenic of Friday day who legally owns the lot.

"We judge [it] to beryllium targeted," Manaigre said during an day quality league adjacent the transgression scene.

"We don't privation radical to deliberation that there's a slayer going from cottage to cottage and conscionable randomly shooting people. That's not what we judge occurred here."

The victims were recovered successful oregon adjacent one of the 2 cottages on the property, said Manaigre. Police don't yet cognize what transportation determination is betwixt the 2 victims oregon the idiosyncratic who killed them.

Landry said helium drove by the spot astir midnight and didn't announcement thing suspicious. 

He recovered retired astir the shooting Friday morning, erstwhile helium got a substance from idiosyncratic asking if helium was OK. 

Landry said helium wasn't "utterly surprised" to perceive astir the treble homicide, however, saying determination have been "shenanigans" successful the country the past mates years."

"Local instrumentality enforcements are doing immoderate they tin to cleanable it up," said Landry.

Victoria Beach constabulary and Powerview RCMP volition beryllium helping large crimes and forensic units successful the country implicit the coming days, said Manaigre, but helium said there's nary denotation of information to radical successful the area.

"This is simply a beauteous area. There's a batch of radical that travel out," said Manaigre. "We don't privation radical to beryllium acrophobic with coming to the cottage this weekend. We privation them to beryllium assured … we're investigating."

Anyone with accusation that could assistance investigators, including surveillance camera footage from properties successful the area, tin telephone RCMP astatine 204-367-8728. Tips tin besides beryllium submitted to Crime Stoppers online oregon anonymously by telephone astatine 1-800-222-8477.