Tristan James Raynard Asham, 21, died after being shot in the Exchange District early Saturday morning, becoming the city’s 45th homicide this year. Winnipeg’s previous homicide record was 44, set in 2019, meaning 2022 has passed the mark with about eight weeks to go. Sel Burrows, a founding member of the Point Douglas Powerline, has been trying to reduce drugs, crime and gang activity in the city for decades. He said the new record is a disappointing achievement. “I’m really angry, really disgusted, sad that we’re going to have 50 murders,” he said, “That’s 50 lives that are over.” According to the Winnipeg Police Service, the new record comes amid a trend in violent crime fueled by a variety of issues. “Substance abuse, whether it’s alcohol or drugs, and sometimes it’s related to drugs or gangs, so we have to keep in mind that there’s usually some kind of connection between the people who are assaulted and the homicide victims. ” said Cst. Claude Chancy, when asked if Winnipeggers should be concerned about the rise. Chancy said people should focus on the victims, noting the statistics are more than a number — something Karen Wiebe, the executive director of Manitoba for Victim Assistance, knows firsthand. “There’s a ripple effect, of course, from losing that person, so every person who knew that person is affected by the suddenness of the loss and especially the brutality and horror of it,” Wiebe explained. Wiebe’s 20-year-old son, TJ, was murdered in 2003, a tragedy she still feels nearly two decades later. “The whole range of all the emotions you can think of in terms of any death is magnified by 100,” he said. Wiebe said it’s important for people who know someone who died in a homicide to contact MOVA for support, since they don’t have access to the names of the victims’ families. Burrows believes the city needs to be proactive in trying to reduce the number of homicides. “We can never get it to zero, but this is at least double what it should be,” he said. Burrows said there needs to be more neighborhood watches where people can report drug activity. It also proposes changing the criminal trial system. “The number one crime prevention program that we have is the conditions, the recognizance conditions of bail,” Burrows said. “Knowing the terms of what they’re released from, so they don’t go to jail, that keeps these people honest for that period of time that there’s proper supervision and proper enforcement.” Burrows also said there needed to be more activities for young people to prevent them from falling into a life of crime. “We’ve stripped the inner city of all these groups. Our community centers are doing the best they can. They don’t have the resources to do what we need to do, get kids doing positive things instead of getting involved in crime .”
